🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 55 (from laksa063)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa055.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/brexit-food\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/brexit-food\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/brexit-food","crawl_time":1770046479,"first_indexed_time":1737634450,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"uk,ac,ed!vet,\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/brexit-food s443","src_root_hash":"16289042781733834455","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Brexit and Food | Global Agriculture and Food Systems | The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies","meta_descriptions":["Dr Kirsteen Shields, Lecturer in International Law and Food Security"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"May’s proposed withdrawal deal was a compromise with the food industry intended to avoid a no deal Brexit food crisis. Several weeks later and the prospect of a no deal Brexit looms larger.\n‘The deal’ proposed that existing terms and conditions covering goods and the EU regulations will continue to apply (under draft\nArticle 6 (2)\n), a list of relevant EU regulations (- 68 pages long) is set out in draft\nAnnex 5\n. That covered food and medicines, ensuring that the majority of existing EU regulation relating to food and medicine would continue to apply indefinitely (until the end of the open-ended transition period).\nThe backstop (\nProtocol on Ireland \/Northern Ireland\n) in the proposed deal was intended to avoid the basic logistical challenges of food supply which would have resulted from a no deal Brexit. The logistical challenges have been well-documented:\nThe UK imports about\n30% (by value)\nof all its food from other EU Member States (more if measured by tonnage).\nMany of those food products are perishable.\nThe necessary IT systems and infrastructure\nare not in place\nfor the import and export of agricultural produce so that businesses can continue to trade smoothly with Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, and the rest of the world.\nThe food security challenges of a no-deal Brexit, the\n‘stuff of nightmares’\n, were to be resolved by stockpiling, according to then\nBrexit Secretary,\nDominic Raab.\nIn evidence to the\nExiting the European Union Committee\n, on Tuesday 24 July 2018,\nRaab was ridiculed when he suggested it would be up to suppliers to stockpile food in the case of a no-deal Brexit: “It would be wrong to describe the government as doing the stockpiling”. The full evidence session is available\nhere\n.\nIn response, the\nBritish Retail Consortium warned\nthat: “Stockpiling of food is not a practical response to a no-deal on Brexit and industry has not been approached by Government to begin planning for this. Retailers do not have the facilities to house stockpiled goods and in the case of fresh produce, it is simply not possible to do so. Our food supply chains are extremely fragile and this is yet further demonstration of the need for an agreement on the backstop to ensure frictionless trade is maintained after the 29 March 2019.”\nAccording to\nIan Wright CBE’s,\nCampden BRI Day Lecture\nin June 2018:\n“The only acceptable outcome is one that delivers: continued tariff-free UK-EU trade in all agrifood and drink products; continued access to EU FTAs (Free Trade Agreement) during and beyond the transition period; as frictionless as possible trade that avoids delays and added costs and no physical border in Ireland where the majority of goods traded are food and drink.”\n‘The deal’ meets these conditions to an extent. It enables the free flow of goods but restricts the flow of alternative trade deals. Instead any such free trade deals will be pursued from within the EU as part of the EU. (It is expected that the EU Trade Commission will explore a “limited” trade agreement on tariffs of industrial goods with the US, next year, although it is not expected that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be resuscitated.)\nEU trade agreements diagram:\nImage\nImage source:\nhttp:\/\/trade.ec.europa.eu\/doclib\/docs\/2012\/june\/tradoc_149622.pdf\nFood producers and labourers:\n \nThe Withdrawal Agreement safeguards the right to stay and continue their current activities for over 3 million EU citizens in the UK, and over 1 million UK nationals in EU countries (\nArticle 10\n). This will protect  non-UK EU citizens who work as vets in meat hygiene services in the UJ (estimated to amount to 90% of the sector according to the\nBritish Veterinary Association\n). This will not safeguard the rights of seasonal migrant workers characteristic of the farming sector.\nA recent report by\nMigrant Advisory Committee\n(MAC) recommends the creation of a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS):\n“The labour market for seasonal agricultural labour is completely separate from the market for resident workers in a way that is unlike any other labour market. According to the ONS, 99 per cent of seasonal agricultural workers are from EU countries and it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which this workforce can come from the resident labour market. There is no other sector in which the majority of workers are migrants and very few with a migrant share above 25 per cent.”\nThe image below, featured in the MAC report\nshows the change in the hectares planted with some selected labour- intensive crops index to 2004, the year the 8 Accession new member states joined the EU. It shows how the number of hectares dedicated to growing these selected crops was falling prior to this event and either stabilised or expanded afterwards.\nImage\n \nSource:\nDEFRA\n(“\nlatest asparagus data for 2015”.)\nUnder a\nnew pilot scheme\nannounced by Michael Gove in September 2018\n2,500 workers from outside the EU will be able to come to the UK each year, alleviating labour shortages during peak production periods.\nAs\nCaroline Nye of the University of Exeter\nhas reported: “\nRunning between spring 2019 and December 2020, the scheme will unfortunately only deal with the tip of the iceberg.. … the 2,500 workers brought in by this new scheme will have little overall impact on the labour crisis currently hanging over the UK farming industry. Many farming businesses could suffer financial problems if larger numbers of visas aren’t made available during the two years the scheme is running. This could lead to further headlines about fruit “\nrotting in the fields\n”.”\nThere are advantages and disadvantages of a seasonal agricultural workers scheme such as that proposed by MAC. The potential disadvantage being that it promotes seasonal migratory work and not permanent year-round jobs. It has clear advantages however, in that it will help against labour shortages in the agricultural sector, and moreover it will protect those workers from the informal labour market. As, it bears noting that the removal of EU protections and rights for seasonal migrant workers in the UK does not necessarily correlate to an exodus of seasonal migrant workers. Instead, in reality, without specific safeguards in this sector, we may see the growth of the informal migrant labour sector across the UK, as farms seek to cut corners and employ cheap labour under the radar to survive.\nCFP\nWithin the fishing sector and beyond, hopes are high that Brexit, and specifically leaving the Common Fisheries Policy, represents\n‘a sea of opportunity’\nfor coastal communities around the UK. – However, both the draft deal scenario and the no deal scenario are unlikely to have the anticipated favourable impact on the UK’s coastal communities, for different reasons.\n‘The deal’ paves the way for the UK to operate as an ‘independent coastal state’.\nUnder Article 130 of the draft deal, the UK is consulted about the management of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) until a new arrangement comes in to place, expected to be in early 2020. On the other hand,\na ‘no deal Brexit’ would mean an end to the CFP more or less immediately.\nUnder both scenarios it is misleading to suggest that the government will automatically ‘\nregain control of its quotas’ and that this be the EU’s loss and UK coastal communities’s ‘win’.\nIndeed the existing quotas have been harmful to the economy of coastal communities.\nBut under\nexisting EU rules on the CFP\n, it is not the EU but the UK government that has responsibility for setting and importantly, monitoring the quotas in UK waters.\nUnder existing arrangements, according to a\nrecent \ninvestigation\n \nby the EU lobby group for coastal fishermen Low Impact Fishers of Europe (Life) and reported by the\nGuardian\n:\n97% of English quotas are owned by a half-dozen fish producer organisations (POs).\n 40 % of the entire Scottish catch by value, and 65% by tonnage, was landed by 19 powerful super-trawlers in 2016. Small-scale coastal fishermen, who operate 80% of Scottish boats, have to make do with 1% of quotas.\nA new arrangement does not necessarily mean a fairer one. It is big industry not small European fishermen who take the lion’s share of fishing stocks in the UK’s coastal waters. If the UK wanted to improve the lot of small fishing industries, it could do so under the existing EU arrangement.\nCAP\nThe draft deal commits to leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (the CAP). What does that mean for farmers and producers in the UK?\nThe CAP has been troubled and much maligned for many years. Some of the controversy surrounding CAP relates to its early practice of\nencouraging overproduction within EU, and the ‘dumping’ of surplus produce on developing countries, to the detriment of local producers and local economies in those countries. Combined with high external tariffs for non-EU food imports, the practice of dumping attracted wide spread international condemnation of the EU agricultural policies notably at the Doha World Trade Organisation talks in 2003.\nThe CAP has evolved considerably since then and is set for further significant reform in the next CAP round (from 2020). The\nEuropean Commission\nhas set out proposals to structure future CAP payments\nto prioritise small and medium-sized farms and encourage young farmers to join the profession.\nThe UK is therefore not leaving CAP as we know it now, but instead it is leaving this future reformed CAP arrangement which will be in place post 2020. The loss of the future CAP benefits is likely therefore to have a disproportionate effect across UK farms, namely on those prioritised by future CAP reform -\nsmall and medium-sized farms and young farmers\n.\nAccording to government estimates\ncurrently CAP support makes up around 50-60% of farm incomes in the UK. The distribution of support across the UK varies however and the loss of CAP will have a differentiated impact regionally. The four\nnations’\nallocation of CAP funding\nper capita over the 2014-2020 period: England – €330; Scotland – €855; Wales – €841; Northern Ireland – €1,372.\nThe\nScottish Government\nhas stated: “Without CAP, few of Scotland’s farm businesses would be viable and much of Scotland's land would be unproductive. … For the vast majority of Scotland’s farmers, CAP support helps to make their businesses viable. Without CAP, we’d run the risk of many farmers leaving the industry and that would have a serious impact on our food production as well as the management of our countryside.”\nIt is generally agreed that the scale and nature of the immediate impact of the CAP exit on UK agriculture will largely depend on future levels of income support for farmers and rural development funding from the UK and Scottish governments (\namongst other factors\n). Gove’s proposed Agriculture Bill sets out that future income support for farmers will be based on environmental contributions, through green payment schemes. How those contributions are measured and therefore the capacity for the diversity of farms across the UK (i.e. including hill farms) to benefit from those subsidies is as yet unclear.\nAccording to a\nHouse of Commons Briefing Paper\n: “The UK Government has pledged [in Gove’s speech\nThe Unfrozen Moment - Delivering A Green Brexit\n] to maintain the same cash funds as currently for CAP until the end of the Parliament, under the expectation that this will be 2022. … Farming unions have welcomed the Government’s commitment to maintaining the same cash funds for farm support until 2022.”\nConclusion\nFood security, and moreover, the food industry, have emerged as deal-breakers in the Brexit debate. The conditions set out in ‘the deal’ attempt to avoid some of the most immediate threats to food security but leaves critical questions unaddressed. - It does not mention the return of competences of devolved issues including agriculture, forestry and fisheries (\nScotland Act 1998, Schedule 5\n)\nto the Scottish Parliament. Though ‘the deal’ is silent on this issue, the UK constitution is not.\nOn a final note, the proposed deal in essence seeks to mitigate the direct impact on food security and producers in the UK risked by a no deal Brexit. Yet there is much more to be said about the impact on food security and food producers globally. The silence on these issues and the marked return to the self-interest of the nation state, both in ‘the deal’, and in the debate that surrounds it, diminishes us all.\nThis blog is drawn for a presentation given by the author to the Annual Conference of the Law Society of Scotland on 26\nth\nOctober 2018 and was previously posted on the European Futures blog; \nhttps:\/\/www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk\/","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to main content](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/brexit-food#main-content)\n\n[![The University of Edinburgh home](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/themes\/upstream\/wpp_theme\/images\/logo.png)](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/)\n\nShow\/hide site search\n\n- [Schools & departments](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/schools-departments)\n- [MyEd](https:\/\/www.myed.ed.ac.uk\/)\n\n![](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/banner_315x70\/public\/banner\/gaffs-simpler-banner_0.gif.jpg?itok=HaOIa7UE)\n\nGlobal Agriculture and Food Systems\n\n## Subsite menu\nToggle Navigation Menu\n\n- [Home](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems)\n- [About](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/about)\n  - 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[Games help students engage with food system concepts](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/blogs\/games-help-students-engage-with)\n        - [Creative retreat fosters collaboration and wellness](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/creative-retreat-fosters-collaboration-and)\n        - [Short courses foster data skills for societal challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/short-courses-foster-data-skills-for-societal-chal)\n        - [Uncovering food insecurity drivers in northern Canada.](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/uncovering-food-insecurity-drivers-in-northern-can)\n        - [Overconsumption, farm animal welfare and nutrition impact](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/overconsumption-farm-animal-welfare-and-nutrition)\n        - [Tackling environmental shocks in the drylands](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/tackling-environmental-shocks-in-the-drylands)\n        - [Feeding the future at Glastonbury](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/feeding-the-future-at-glastonbury)\n        - [Analysing the costs and income of deer stalking in Scotland](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/analysing-the-costs-and-income-of-deer-stalking-in)\n        - [Soil carbon model could aid in climate change mitigation](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/soil-carbon-model-could-aid-in-climate-change-miti)\n        - [Targeted plan supports soil potassium management](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/targeted-plan-supports-soil-potassium-management)\n        - [Short courses foster data skills for societal challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/short-courses-foster-data-skills-for-societal-chal)\n        - [Behind the environmental impacts of pet foods](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/behind-the-environmental-impacts-of-pet-foods)\n        - [Data course brings benefits to livestock farmers](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/data-course-brings-benefits-to-livestock-farmers)\n        - [Data, genetics, and aquaculture at the Royal Highland Show](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/data-genetics-and-aquaculture-at-the-royal-highlan)\n        - [Joint PhD fellowship supports food policy research](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/joint-phd-fellowship-supports-food-policy-research)\n        - [Exploring the research life cycle in Agri-EPI internship](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/exploring-the-research-life-cycle-in-agri-epi-inte)\n        - [Community sessions support sustainable farming in Chile](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/community-sessions-support-sustainable-farming-in)\n        - [Bridging policy and technology with the Good Food Nation](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/bridging-policy-and-technology-with-the-good-food)\n        - [Investigating the human costs of contemporary GM corporations](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/investigating-the-human-costs-of-contemporary-gm-c)\n        - [Early career researchers swap perspectives in seminars](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/early-career-researchers-swap-perspectives-in-semi)\n        - [Appetite for kelp work leads to African adventure](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/appetite-for-kelp-work-leads-to-african-adventure)\n        - [Developments in livestock breeding aid food security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/developments-in-livestock-breeding-aid-food-securi)\n        - [Modelling to support climate-friendly cattle](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/climate-friendly-cattle)\n        - [Could livestock Cop it in Glasgow?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/could-livestock-cop-it-in-glasgow)\n        - [Novel approaches support future food systems](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/novel-approaches-support-future-food-systems)\n        - [Parasite insight could curb infections and limit waste](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/parasite-insight-could-curb-infections-and-limit-w)\n        - [Make a difference by going Planetary with your diet](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/make-a-difference-by-going-planetary-with-your-die)\n        - [The Food Security and Sustainability Society, one year on](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/the-food-security-and-sustainability-society-one-y)\n        - [Appetite for lab grown meat in spotlight at event](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/appetite-for-lab-grown-meat-in-spotlight-at-event)\n        - [Crowd-sourced data shows what livestock eat](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/crowd-sourced-data-shows-what-livestock-eat)\n        - [Red and processed meat intake high across North America](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/red-and-processed-meat-intake-high-across-north-am)\n        - [Food security and taste drive food choices in Malawi](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/food-security-and-taste-drive-food-choices-in-mala)\n        - [Guilty pleasures: eating the dirty burger](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/guilty-pleasures-eating-the-dirty-burger)\n        - [Paths to progress in curbing climate change impact from farming](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/paths-to-progress-in-curbing-climate-change-impact)\n        - [Why raising cattle isn’t the whole story of deforestation](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/the-beef-over-forest-fires-why-raising-cattle-is)\n        - [Food banking in the United States during Covid-19](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/food-banking-in-the-united-states-during-covid-19)\n        - [MSc in Global Food Security and Nutrition Student Blog](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/msc-in-global-food-security-and-nutrition-student)\n        - [Global study lends insights into uptake of effective infant diarrhoea therapy](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/global-study-lends-insights-into-uptake-of-effecti)\n        - [Global Challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/challenges)\n        - [Inside the box: an analysis of the UK’s emergency food distribution scheme](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/inside-the-box-an-analysis-of-the-uk-s-emergency-f)\n        - [De-globalising in response to COVID-19](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/deglobalising-in-response-to-covid)\n        - [Food narratives in a time of crisis: implications for risk perception and responsibility for food security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/food-narratives-in-a-time-of-crisis-implications-f)\n        - [The Global Report on Food Crises with a focus on Covid-19: A Summary](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/the-global-report-on-food-crises-with-a-focus-on-c)\n        - [Modelling for Pandemic Preparedness: A Need for a One Health Approach](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/modelling-for-pandemic-preparedness-a-need-for-a-o)\n        - [Covid19 and food system resilience](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/covid19-and-food-system-resilience)\n        - [Supermarkets in Times of Crisis](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/supermarkets-in-times-of-crisis)\n        - [Veg Blog - What is Food Security?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/veg-blog-what-is-food-security)\n        - [New Scientist Live](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/new-scientist-live)\n        - [The importance of using research in teaching](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/the-importance-of-using-research-in-teaching)\n        - [Nipah outbreak in South India: Some preliminary thoughts from an Anthropologist](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/nipah-outbreak-in-south-india-some-preliminary-tho)\n        - [Roses are red violets are blue, can industrial maths solve the problem for you?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/roses-are-red-violets-are-blue)\n        - [How palatable is the EAT-Lancet report on healthy diets and food systems?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/how-palatable-is-the-eat-lancet-report-on-healthy)\n        - [On rebounds, boomerangs, and the road to hell](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/on-rebounds-boomerangs-and-the-road-to-hell)\n        - [Brexit and Food](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/brexit-food)\n        - [The Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security on The Road\\!](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/on-the-road)\n    - [Newsletters](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/newsletters)\n    - [Media & Downloads](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/media-downloads)\n    - [News archive](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive)\n      \n      Expand\/collapse submenu\n      - - [2025](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2025)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [Student drives community-led solutions to malnutrition](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/student-drives-community-led)\n            - [Shoppers lack access to organic grocery options](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-and-food-systems\/news\/2025\/shoppers-lack-access-to-organic-grocery-options)\n            - [Five-year study points to healthy, sustainable UK diets](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/five-year-study-points-to-healthy-sustainable-uk-diets)\n            - [Experts outline potential of One Health in food systems](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/experts-outline-potential-of-one-health-in-food-systems)\n            - [International team aims to tackle pig parasite](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/international-team-aims-to-tackle-pig-parasite)\n            - [Study investigates impact of early diet on later health](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/study-investigates-impact-of-early-diet-on-later-health)\n            - [Global trade vital to ensure healthy food provision](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/global-trade-vital-to-ensure-healthy-food-provision)\n            - [Experts gather to examine future role of livestock](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/future-role-of-livestock)\n            - [Alarming diet trends among Scottish children](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/latest-news\/alarming-diet-trends-among-scottish-children)\n            - [Benchmarking method aids sustainability in farm systems](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/benchmarking-method-aids)\n            - [Dog food can have greater impact than human diets](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2026\/dog-food-can-have-greater-impact-than-human-diets)\n            - [Smaller portions drive fall in meat consumption](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2025\/smaller-portions-drive-fall-in)\n        - [2024](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [AMR expert network secures funds to tackle resistance](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/amr-expert-network-secures-funds)\n            - [Alleviating livestock feed shortage in sub-Saharan Africa](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/alleviating-livestock-feed-shortage-in-sub-saharan)\n            - [Caution urged over updates to key food dataset](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/caution-urged-over-updates-to-key-food-dataset)\n            - [Cutting processed meat intake brings health benefits](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/cutting-processed-meat-intake-brings-health-benefits)\n            - [Global tool estimates environmental impact of diets](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/global-tool-estimates-environmental-impact-of-diet)\n            - [Media bias may frame food system debate](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/media-bias-may-frame-food-system-debate)\n            - [Strategic marketing of organic foods can boost demand](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/strategic-marketing-organic-foods-boost-demand)\n            - [Survey to understand eating habits of young Scots](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/survey-to-understand-eating-habits-of-young-scots)\n            - [Warning labels could reduce appetite for red meat](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2024\/warning-labels-could-reduce-appetite-for-red-meat)\n        - [2023](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [Antibiotic tax could be as effective as a ban, study shows](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/antibiotic-tax-effective-as-ban)\n            - [Expert group tackles economics of antimicrobial resistance](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/expert-group-tackle-economics-antimicrobial-resistance)\n            - [Expert report sets out path to living with bird flu risk](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/expert-report-living-with-bird-flu)\n            - [Fertiliser costs could lead to undernourishment for millions](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/fertiliser-costs-could-lead-undernourishment)\n            - [Food politics trailblazer welcomes Edinburgh Medal award](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/food-politics-trailblazer-welcomes-edinburgh-medal)\n            - [Landmark report on diet paves way to future research](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/landmark-report-diet-paves-way-future-research)\n            - [Livestock policies should reflect diverse views, study finds](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/livestock-policies-should-reflect-diverse-views)\n            - [Masters programme tackles crises for people and planet](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/masters-programme-tackles-crises-people-planet)\n            - [Meeting focuses on antimicrobials in livestock](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/meeting-focuses-on-antimicrobials-in-livestock)\n            - [Parental work in agriculture affects child development](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/parental-agriculture-affects-child-development)\n            - [Policymakers advised on actions toward healthy diets](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/policymakers-advised-healthy-diets)\n            - [Professor Lisa Boden appointed new Head of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/lisa-boden-head-vet-school)\n            - [Science can support sustainable beef production, expert claims](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/science-support-sustainable-beef-production)\n            - [Smallholder farming benefits nutrition in under-fives](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/smallholder-farming-benefits-nutrition-under-fives)\n            - [Study spotlights factors affecting antibiotic resistance](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/study-spotlights-antibiotic-resistance)\n            - [Summer school focuses on infectious disease research](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/summer-school-focus-infectious-disease-research)\n            - [Traditional agriculture can support planetary health](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/traditional-agriculture-support-planetary-health)\n            - [University and ILRI renew livestock research partnership](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/uni-ilri-renew-livestock-research-partnership)\n            - [University partnership unveils agricultural strategy](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/uni-partnership-unveils-agricultural-strategy)\n            - [Women key to crop success in low-income countries](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2023\/women-crop-success-low-income-countries)\n        - [2022](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [Animal disease centre wins share of £35m funding](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/animal-disease-centre-wins-share-of-ps35m-funding)\n            - [Campus to host secondary school with focus on STEM](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/campus-to-host-secondary-school-with-focus-on-stem)\n            - [Conference: EurSafe 2022 'Transforming Food Systems'](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/conference-eursafe-2022-transforming-food-systems)\n            - [Data science applied to key food systems challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/data-science-applied-to-key-food-systems-challenge)\n            - [Death of Professor Alan Raybould](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/death-of-professor-alan-raybould)\n            - [Diseases in spotlight at One Health workshop](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/acrhive\/2022\/diseases-in-spotlight-at-one-health-workshop)\n            - [EurSafe conference focuses on food systems](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/eursafe-conference-focuses-on-food-systems)\n            - [Eursafe event focuses on transforming food systems](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/eursafe-event-focuses-on-transforming-food-systems)\n            - [Expert joins panel advising Scottish Government](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/expert-joins-panel-advising-scottish-government)\n            - [Insight into sales messaging could aid seafood trade](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/insight-into-sales-messaging-could-aid-seafood-trading)\n            - [Market conditions key to adoption of gene editing](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/market-conditions-key-to-adoption-of-gene-editing)\n            - [National assessment highlights research excellence](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/national-assessment-highlights-research-excellence)\n            - [National event focuses on food security challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/national-event-focuses-on-food-security-challenges)\n            - [Natural farming programme halves use of pesticides by farmers](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/natural-farming-programme-halves-use-of-pesticides)\n            - [Pandemic’s first wave had minimal impact on farming pattern and practices in India](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/pandemic-farming-india)\n            - [Post-pandemic diet shifts could avert premature deaths](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/post-pandemic-diet-shifts-could-avert-premature-de)\n            - [Scientist adds voice to UN climate change report](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/scientist-adds-voice-un-climate-change-report)\n            - [Staff honoured by students in annual teaching awards](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/staff-honoured-teaching-awards)\n            - [Students gather for summer school on One Health](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/students-gather-for-summer-school-on-one-health)\n            - [Varied red meat intake offers scope for alternatives](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2022\/varied-red-meat-intake-alternatives)\n        - [2021](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [Award honours support for community initiative](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/award-honours-support-for-community-initiative)\n            - [Changing markets put pressure on livestock sector](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/changing-markets-put-pressure-on-livestock-sector)\n            - [Consensus breaks out on net-zero farming](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/consensus-breaks-out-on-net-zero-farming)\n            - [Expert joins sustainable livestock event at COP26](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/expert-joins-sustainable-livestock-event-at-cop26)\n            - [Health warnings can nudge consumers to eat less meat](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/health-warnings-can-nudge-consumers-to-eat-less-me)\n            - [Indian study tracks health benefits of organic farming](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/indian-study-tracks-health-benefits-organic-farming)\n            - [Lessons from India on scaling up natural farming](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/lessons-from-india-on-scaling-up-natural-farming)\n            - [Monocroppers at increased risk of poor diets during Covid lockdown](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/monocroppers-increased-risk-poor-diets-during-covid)\n            - [Partnership for data-driven early response to hunger launched](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/partnership-data-driven-early-response-launched)\n            - [Partnership to deliver data-driven tech to farmers](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/partnership-to-deliver-data-driven-tech-to-farmers)\n            - [Salt content on the rise in vegetarian menu options](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/salt-content-on-the-rise-in-vegetarian-menu-option)\n            - [Schools have food for thought at Scottish produce webinar](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/schools-have-food-for-thought-at-scottish-produce)\n            - [Seminar: \"Food Systems for Nutrition: Progress in the Last Decade and Future Directions\"](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/seminar-food-systems-for-nutrition-progress)\n            - [Student joins international COP26 youth event](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/student-joins-international-cop26-youth-event)\n            - [Student placement success at SEBI in Livestock](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/student-placement-success-at-sebi-in-livestock)\n            - [Student team wins prizes for sexual health project](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/student-team-wins-prize-for-sexual-health-project)\n            - [Students challenged to eat well for the planet](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/students-challenged-to-eat-well-for-the-planet)\n            - [Students gain experience with FAO internship](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/students-gain-experience-with-fao-internship)\n            - [Students win accolades for leadership efforts](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/students-win-accolades-for-leadership-efforts)\n            - [Vet profession sustainability champion awarded](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/sustainability-champion-awarded)\n            - [Virtual student work placement success at Aviagen](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/virtual-student-work-placement-success-at-aviagen)\n            - [Young population helps limit Covid-19 impact in Ethiopia](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2021\/young-population-helps-limit-covid-19-impact-in-et)\n        - [2020](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [Assessment reveals impact of pet food production](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/assessment-reveals-impact-pet-food-production)\n            - [Cattle diet software helps sustainable production](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/cattle-diet-software-helps-sustainable-production)\n            - [Crop research seeks to support African smallholders](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/crop-research-seeks-to-support-african-smallholder)\n            - [Dr Lindsay Jaacks joins the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/dr-lindsay-jaacks-joins-academy)\n            - [Dr Simon Fraval joins the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/dr-simon-fraval-joins-academy)\n            - [Dr Taddese Zerfu joins the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/dr-taddese-zerfu-joins-academy)\n            - [Global Academy of Agriculture COVID-19 Response](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/global-academy-covid19-response)\n            - [Infants in poorer regions lack access to diarrhoea therapy](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/infants-in-poorer-regions-lack-access-to-diarrhoea)\n            - [NEW online course in Sustainable Global Food Systems](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/new-online-course-in-sustainable-global-food-syste)\n            - [Proxy healthcare measures put Global South patients at risk](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/proxy-healthcare-measures-put-global-south-patient)\n            - [Researcher named among world-class fellowship winners](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/researcher-named-among-world-class-fellowship-winn)\n            - [Syrian food security initiative wins research support](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/syrian-food-security-initiative-wins-research-support)\n            - [UK nations seek to champion animal health and welfare](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2020\/uk-nations-champion-animal-health-welfare)\n            - [Vitamin D in pregnancy does not curb asthma in babies](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/2020\/vitamin-d-pregnancy-does-not-curb-asthma-babies)\n        - [2019](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2019)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [Can we change course on the global livestock feed industry's environmental impact?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2019\/qa-can-we-change-course-on-global-livestock-feed)\n            - [Chancellor’s Fellowships in Global Challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2019\/chancellors-fellowships-in-global-challenges)\n            - [Climate lessons could aid antibiotics challenge](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2019\/climate-lessons-antibiotics-challenge)\n            - [Palm Oil Production Film](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2019\/palm-oil-production-film)\n            - [Second Round of Projects Funded by Edinburgh Sydney Partnership Collaboration Awards](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2019\/second-round-projects-funded-by-partnership)\n            - [The Planetary Health Game](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2019\/the-planetary-health-game)\n            - [Zimbabwe GCRF Foundation Award Visit](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2019\/zimbabwe-visit)\n        - [2018](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2018)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, works with Edinburgh Global Research and Partnership Fund](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2018\/edin-global-research-partnership-fund)\n            - [Innovative data-driven Fellowships available](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2018\/innovative-data-driven-fellowships-available)\n            - [Professor Geoff Simm: Inaugural lecture: Thought for Food - Food for Thought?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/acrhive\/2018\/gaafs-news\/news\/prof-geoff-simm-inaugural-lecture)\n        - [2017](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2017)\n          \n          Expand\/collapse submenu\n          - - [Global Academy – Global Recruitment](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2017\/global-recruitment)\n            - [Agriculture workshop examines drone use to boost harvests](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2017\/workshop-examines-drone-use-boost-harvests)\n            - [Launch of the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2017\/launch-of-global-academy)\n            - [Launching a new Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive\/2017\/launching-new-global-academy-of-agriculture)\n- [Events](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/events)\n  \n  Expand\/collapse submenu\n  - - [Symposium 2025](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/events\/symposium-2025)\n      \n      Expand\/collapse submenu\n      - - [Symposium 2025 wrap up](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/events\/symposium-2025-wrap-up)\n    - [Aquaculture Research and Equity Forum 2025](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/events\/aquaculture-research-and-equity-forum-2025)\n    - [Staff\/Student Journal Club](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/events\/staff-student-journal-club)\n    - [Events Archive](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-and-food-systems\/events\/events-archive)\n      \n      Expand\/collapse submenu\n      - - [Symposium 2024](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/events\/symposium-2024)\n        - [Events Archive 2017-2020](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/events\/events-archive1720)\n- [Contact Us](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/contact-us)\n  \n  Expand\/collapse submenu\n  - - [University of Edinburgh Staff Associate Members](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/contact-us\/members)\n\n## Subsite menu\n- [Latest News](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/latest)\n- [Blogs](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs)\n  \n  Expand\/collapse submenu\n  - - [Encouraging AMR change-makers of tomorrow](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-and-food-systems\/blogs\/2025\/encouraging-amr-change-makers-of-tomorrow)\n    - [Livestock insurance research impacts on policy](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-and-food-systems\/news-and-media\/blogs\/livestock-insurance-research-impacts-on)\n    - [Team explores drug resistance in Himalayan field trip](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-and-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/team-explores-drug-resistance-in-himalayan-field-trip)\n    - [Stakeholder meetings and academic workshops in Nepal](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/stakeholder-meetings-and-academic)\n    - [International partnership builds veterinary expertise](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/international-partnership-builds)\n    - [Games help students engage with food system concepts](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/blogs\/games-help-students-engage-with)\n    - [Creative retreat fosters collaboration and wellness](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/creative-retreat-fosters-collaboration-and)\n    - [Short courses foster data skills for societal challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/short-courses-foster-data-skills-for-societal-chal)\n    - [Uncovering food insecurity drivers in northern Canada.](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/uncovering-food-insecurity-drivers-in-northern-can)\n    - [Overconsumption, farm animal welfare and nutrition impact](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/overconsumption-farm-animal-welfare-and-nutrition)\n    - [Tackling environmental shocks in the drylands](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/tackling-environmental-shocks-in-the-drylands)\n    - [Feeding the future at Glastonbury](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/feeding-the-future-at-glastonbury)\n    - [Analysing the costs and income of deer stalking in Scotland](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/analysing-the-costs-and-income-of-deer-stalking-in)\n    - [Soil carbon model could aid in climate change mitigation](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/soil-carbon-model-could-aid-in-climate-change-miti)\n    - [Targeted plan supports soil potassium management](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/targeted-plan-supports-soil-potassium-management)\n    - [Short courses foster data skills for societal challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/short-courses-foster-data-skills-for-societal-chal)\n    - [Behind the environmental impacts of pet foods](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/behind-the-environmental-impacts-of-pet-foods)\n    - [Data course brings benefits to livestock farmers](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/data-course-brings-benefits-to-livestock-farmers)\n    - [Data, genetics, and aquaculture at the Royal Highland Show](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/data-genetics-and-aquaculture-at-the-royal-highlan)\n    - [Joint PhD fellowship supports food policy research](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/joint-phd-fellowship-supports-food-policy-research)\n    - [Exploring the research life cycle in Agri-EPI internship](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/exploring-the-research-life-cycle-in-agri-epi-inte)\n    - [Community sessions support sustainable farming in Chile](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/community-sessions-support-sustainable-farming-in)\n    - [Bridging policy and technology with the Good Food Nation](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/bridging-policy-and-technology-with-the-good-food)\n    - [Investigating the human costs of contemporary GM corporations](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/investigating-the-human-costs-of-contemporary-gm-c)\n    - [Early career researchers swap perspectives in seminars](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/early-career-researchers-swap-perspectives-in-semi)\n    - [Appetite for kelp work leads to African adventure](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/appetite-for-kelp-work-leads-to-african-adventure)\n    - [Developments in livestock breeding aid food security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/developments-in-livestock-breeding-aid-food-securi)\n    - [Modelling to support climate-friendly cattle](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/climate-friendly-cattle)\n    - [Could livestock Cop it in Glasgow?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/could-livestock-cop-it-in-glasgow)\n    - [Novel approaches support future food systems](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/novel-approaches-support-future-food-systems)\n    - [Parasite insight could curb infections and limit waste](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/parasite-insight-could-curb-infections-and-limit-w)\n    - [Make a difference by going Planetary with your diet](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/make-a-difference-by-going-planetary-with-your-die)\n    - [The Food Security and Sustainability Society, one year on](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/the-food-security-and-sustainability-society-one-y)\n    - [Appetite for lab grown meat in spotlight at event](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/appetite-for-lab-grown-meat-in-spotlight-at-event)\n    - [Crowd-sourced data shows what livestock eat](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/crowd-sourced-data-shows-what-livestock-eat)\n    - [Red and processed meat intake high across North America](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/red-and-processed-meat-intake-high-across-north-am)\n    - [Food security and taste drive food choices in Malawi](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/food-security-and-taste-drive-food-choices-in-mala)\n    - [Guilty pleasures: eating the dirty burger](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/guilty-pleasures-eating-the-dirty-burger)\n    - [Paths to progress in curbing climate change impact from farming](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/paths-to-progress-in-curbing-climate-change-impact)\n    - [Why raising cattle isn’t the whole story of deforestation](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/the-beef-over-forest-fires-why-raising-cattle-is)\n    - [Food banking in the United States during Covid-19](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/food-banking-in-the-united-states-during-covid-19)\n    - [MSc in Global Food Security and Nutrition Student Blog](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/msc-in-global-food-security-and-nutrition-student)\n    - [Global study lends insights into uptake of effective infant diarrhoea therapy](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/global-study-lends-insights-into-uptake-of-effecti)\n    - [Global Challenges](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/challenges)\n    - [Inside the box: an analysis of the UK’s emergency food distribution scheme](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/inside-the-box-an-analysis-of-the-uk-s-emergency-f)\n    - [De-globalising in response to COVID-19](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/deglobalising-in-response-to-covid)\n    - [Food narratives in a time of crisis: implications for risk perception and responsibility for food security](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/food-narratives-in-a-time-of-crisis-implications-f)\n    - [The Global Report on Food Crises with a focus on Covid-19: A Summary](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/the-global-report-on-food-crises-with-a-focus-on-c)\n    - [Modelling for Pandemic Preparedness: A Need for a One Health Approach](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/modelling-for-pandemic-preparedness-a-need-for-a-o)\n    - [Covid19 and food system resilience](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/covid19-and-food-system-resilience)\n    - [Supermarkets in Times of Crisis](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/supermarkets-in-times-of-crisis)\n    - [Veg Blog - What is Food Security?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/veg-blog-what-is-food-security)\n    - [New Scientist Live](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/new-scientist-live)\n    - [The importance of using research in teaching](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/the-importance-of-using-research-in-teaching)\n    - [Nipah outbreak in South India: Some preliminary thoughts from an Anthropologist](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/nipah-outbreak-in-south-india-some-preliminary-tho)\n    - [Roses are red violets are blue, can industrial maths solve the problem for you?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/roses-are-red-violets-are-blue)\n    - [How palatable is the EAT-Lancet report on healthy diets and food systems?](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/how-palatable-is-the-eat-lancet-report-on-healthy)\n    - [On rebounds, boomerangs, and the road to hell](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/on-rebounds-boomerangs-and-the-road-to-hell)\n    - [Brexit and Food](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/brexit-food)\n    - [The Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security on The Road\\!](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/on-the-road)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/newsletters)\n- [Media & Downloads](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/media-downloads)\n- [News archive](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news\/archive)\n\n## Breadcrumb\n1. [Home](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/)\n2. [The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/)\n3. [Global Agriculture and Food Systems](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems)\n4. [News and media](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/news)\n5. [Blogs](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs)\n6. Brexit and Food\n\n# Brexit and Food\nDr Kirsteen Shields, Lecturer in International Law and Food Security\n\n### May’s proposed withdrawal deal was a compromise with the food industry intended to avoid a no deal Brexit food crisis. Several weeks later and the prospect of a no deal Brexit looms larger.\n‘The deal’ proposed that existing terms and conditions covering goods and the EU regulations will continue to apply (under draft [Article 6 (2)](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)), a list of relevant EU regulations (- 68 pages long) is set out in draft [Annex 5](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf). That covered food and medicines, ensuring that the majority of existing EU regulation relating to food and medicine would continue to apply indefinitely (until the end of the open-ended transition period).\n\nThe backstop ([Protocol on Ireland \/Northern Ireland](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)) in the proposed deal was intended to avoid the basic logistical challenges of food supply which would have resulted from a no deal Brexit. The logistical challenges have been well-documented: The UK imports about [30% (by value)](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/food-statistics-pocketbook-2017\/food-statistics-in-your-pocket-2017-global-and-uk-supply) of all its food from other EU Member States (more if measured by tonnage). Many of those food products are perishable. The necessary IT systems and infrastructure [are not in place](https:\/\/publications.parliament.uk\/pa\/cm201719\/cmselect\/cmenvfru\/348\/348.pdf) for the import and export of agricultural produce so that businesses can continue to trade smoothly with Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, and the rest of the world.\n\nThe food security challenges of a no-deal Brexit, the [‘stuff of nightmares’](https:\/\/www.newsletter.co.uk\/news\/business\/brexit-becoming-stuff-of-nightmares-warns-food-chief-1-8587777), were to be resolved by stockpiling, according to then Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab. In evidence to the [Exiting the European Union Committee](https:\/\/parliamentlive.tv\/Event\/Index\/5342afbc-c9d3-4a2c-8bb4-c0ab9214db68), on Tuesday 24 July 2018, Raab was ridiculed when he suggested it would be up to suppliers to stockpile food in the case of a no-deal Brexit: “It would be wrong to describe the government as doing the stockpiling”. The full evidence session is available [here](https:\/\/parliamentlive.tv\/Event\/Index\/5342afbc-c9d3-4a2c-8bb4-c0ab9214db68#player-tabs).\n\nIn response, the [British Retail Consortium warned](https:\/\/brc.org.uk\/news\/2018\/stockpiling-of-food-is-not-a-practical-response-to-a-no-deal-on-brexit) that: “Stockpiling of food is not a practical response to a no-deal on Brexit and industry has not been approached by Government to begin planning for this. Retailers do not have the facilities to house stockpiled goods and in the case of fresh produce, it is simply not possible to do so. Our food supply chains are extremely fragile and this is yet further demonstration of the need for an agreement on the backstop to ensure frictionless trade is maintained after the 29 March 2019.”\n\nAccording to Ian Wright CBE’s, [Campden BRI Day Lecture](https:\/\/www.fdf.org.uk\/news.aspx?article=7994) in June 2018: “The only acceptable outcome is one that delivers: continued tariff-free UK-EU trade in all agrifood and drink products; continued access to EU FTAs (Free Trade Agreement) during and beyond the transition period; as frictionless as possible trade that avoids delays and added costs and no physical border in Ireland where the majority of goods traded are food and drink.”\n\n‘The deal’ meets these conditions to an extent. It enables the free flow of goods but restricts the flow of alternative trade deals. Instead any such free trade deals will be pursued from within the EU as part of the EU. (It is expected that the EU Trade Commission will explore a “limited” trade agreement on tariffs of industrial goods with the US, next year, although it is not expected that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be resuscitated.)\n\n**EU trade agreements diagram:**\n\nImage\n\n![Map showing the state of EU trade](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/convert_to_webp\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/kirsteen_blog_graph_1.png.webp?itok=t4OIk5h9)\n\n**Image source: <http:\/\/trade.ec.europa.eu\/doclib\/docs\/2012\/june\/tradoc_149622.pdf>**\n\n**Food producers and labourers:**\n\nThe Withdrawal Agreement safeguards the right to stay and continue their current activities for over 3 million EU citizens in the UK, and over 1 million UK nationals in EU countries ([Article 10](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)). This will protect non-UK EU citizens who work as vets in meat hygiene services in the UJ (estimated to amount to 90% of the sector according to the [British Veterinary Association](https:\/\/www.bva.co.uk\/News-campaigns-and-policy\/Newsroom\/News-releases\/BVA-urges-UK-governments-to-protect-the-status-of-vets-and-VNs-in-Brexit-negotiations\/)). This will not safeguard the rights of seasonal migrant workers characteristic of the farming sector.\n\nA recent report by [Migrant Advisory Committee](https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/741926\/Final_EEA_report.PDF) (MAC) recommends the creation of a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS): “The labour market for seasonal agricultural labour is completely separate from the market for resident workers in a way that is unlike any other labour market. According to the ONS, 99 per cent of seasonal agricultural workers are from EU countries and it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which this workforce can come from the resident labour market. There is no other sector in which the majority of workers are migrants and very few with a migrant share above 25 per cent.”\n\nThe image below, featured in the MAC report shows the change in the hectares planted with some selected labour- intensive crops index to 2004, the year the 8 Accession new member states joined the EU. It shows how the number of hectares dedicated to growing these selected crops was falling prior to this event and either stabilised or expanded afterwards.\n\nImage\n\n![Graph showing hectares of planted crops over time](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/convert_to_webp\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/kirsteen_blog_graph_2.png.webp?itok=wa5BzMsF)\n\nSource: [DEFRA](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/statistics\/latest-horticulture-statistics) (“latest asparagus data for 2015”.)\n\nUnder a [new pilot scheme](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/new-pilot-scheme-to-bring-2500-seasonal-workers-to-uk-farms?utm_source=049715a0-261c-431b-89b8-0ecd10b2fbf9&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate) announced by Michael Gove in September 2018 2,500 workers from outside the EU will be able to come to the UK each year, alleviating labour shortages during peak production periods. As [Caroline Nye of the University of Exeter](https:\/\/theconversation.com\/british-farms-could-get-a-special-pass-to-hire-migrant-workers-after-brexit-103393) has reported: “Running between spring 2019 and December 2020, the scheme will unfortunately only deal with the tip of the iceberg.. … the 2,500 workers brought in by this new scheme will have little overall impact on the labour crisis currently hanging over the UK farming industry. Many farming businesses could suffer financial problems if larger numbers of visas aren’t made available during the two years the scheme is running. This could lead to further headlines about fruit “[rotting in the fields](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2018\/feb\/09\/lack-of-migrant-workers-left-food-rotting-in-uk-fields-last-year-data-reveals)”.”\n\nThere are advantages and disadvantages of a seasonal agricultural workers scheme such as that proposed by MAC. The potential disadvantage being that it promotes seasonal migratory work and not permanent year-round jobs. It has clear advantages however, in that it will help against labour shortages in the agricultural sector, and moreover it will protect those workers from the informal labour market. As, it bears noting that the removal of EU protections and rights for seasonal migrant workers in the UK does not necessarily correlate to an exodus of seasonal migrant workers. Instead, in reality, without specific safeguards in this sector, we may see the growth of the informal migrant labour sector across the UK, as farms seek to cut corners and employ cheap labour under the radar to survive.\n\n**CFP**\n\nWithin the fishing sector and beyond, hopes are high that Brexit, and specifically leaving the Common Fisheries Policy, represents [‘a sea of opportunity’](https:\/\/www.sff.co.uk\/brexit-bonanza-fisheries-seize-sea-opportunity\/) for coastal communities around the UK. – However, both the draft deal scenario and the no deal scenario are unlikely to have the anticipated favourable impact on the UK’s coastal communities, for different reasons.\n\n‘The deal’ paves the way for the UK to operate as an ‘independent coastal state’. Under Article 130 of the draft deal, the UK is consulted about the management of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) until a new arrangement comes in to place, expected to be in early 2020. On the other hand, a ‘no deal Brexit’ would mean an end to the CFP more or less immediately.\n\nUnder both scenarios it is misleading to suggest that the government will automatically ‘regain control of its quotas’ and that this be the EU’s loss and UK coastal communities’s ‘win’. Indeed the existing quotas have been harmful to the economy of coastal communities. But under existing EU rules on the CFP, it is not the EU but the UK government that has responsibility for setting and importantly, monitoring the quotas in UK waters.\n\nUnder existing arrangements, according to a recent [investigation](http:\/\/lifeplatform.eu\/fishy-business-fish-pos-eu\/) by the EU lobby group for coastal fishermen Low Impact Fishers of Europe (Life) and reported by the [Guardian](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2018\/jun\/11\/brexit-uk-fishermen-fishing-industry-quotas-uk-government): 97% of English quotas are owned by a half-dozen fish producer organisations (POs).  40 % of the entire Scottish catch by value, and 65% by tonnage, was landed by 19 powerful super-trawlers in 2016. Small-scale coastal fishermen, who operate 80% of Scottish boats, have to make do with 1% of quotas.\n\nA new arrangement does not necessarily mean a fairer one. It is big industry not small European fishermen who take the lion’s share of fishing stocks in the UK’s coastal waters. If the UK wanted to improve the lot of small fishing industries, it could do so under the existing EU arrangement.\n\n**CAP**\n\nThe draft deal commits to leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (the CAP). What does that mean for farmers and producers in the UK?\n\nThe CAP has been troubled and much maligned for many years. Some of the controversy surrounding CAP relates to its early practice of encouraging overproduction within EU, and the ‘dumping’ of surplus produce on developing countries, to the detriment of local producers and local economies in those countries. Combined with high external tariffs for non-EU food imports, the practice of dumping attracted wide spread international condemnation of the EU agricultural policies notably at the Doha World Trade Organisation talks in 2003.\n\nThe CAP has evolved considerably since then and is set for further significant reform in the next CAP round (from 2020). The [European Commission](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/food-farming-fisheries\/key-policies\/common-agricultural-policy\/future-cap_en) has set out proposals to structure future CAP payments to prioritise small and medium-sized farms and encourage young farmers to join the profession. The UK is therefore not leaving CAP as we know it now, but instead it is leaving this future reformed CAP arrangement which will be in place post 2020. The loss of the future CAP benefits is likely therefore to have a disproportionate effect across UK farms, namely on those prioritised by future CAP reform - small and medium-sized farms and young farmers.\n\n[According to government estimates](https:\/\/researchbriefings.parliament.uk\/ResearchBriefing\/Summary\/CDP-2016-0177) currently CAP support makes up around 50-60% of farm incomes in the UK. The distribution of support across the UK varies however and the loss of CAP will have a differentiated impact regionally. The four nations’ [allocation of CAP funding](http:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/uk-cap-allocations-announced) per capita over the 2014-2020 period: England – €330; Scotland – €855; Wales – €841; Northern Ireland – €1,372.\n\nThe [Scottish Government](https:\/\/www2.gov.scot\/Topics\/farmingrural\/Agriculture\/CAP\/CAPEurope10112012\/CAP-whatitmeansforScotland) has stated: “Without CAP, few of Scotland’s farm businesses would be viable and much of Scotland's land would be unproductive. … For the vast majority of Scotland’s farmers, CAP support helps to make their businesses viable. Without CAP, we’d run the risk of many farmers leaving the industry and that would have a serious impact on our food production as well as the management of our countryside.”\n\nIt is generally agreed that the scale and nature of the immediate impact of the CAP exit on UK agriculture will largely depend on future levels of income support for farmers and rural development funding from the UK and Scottish governments ([amongst other factors](https:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/documents\/commons-library\/Brexit-UK-agriculture-policy-CBP-8218.pdf)). Gove’s proposed Agriculture Bill sets out that future income support for farmers will be based on environmental contributions, through green payment schemes. How those contributions are measured and therefore the capacity for the diversity of farms across the UK (i.e. including hill farms) to benefit from those subsidies is as yet unclear.\n\nAccording to a [House of Commons Briefing Paper](https:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/documents\/commons-library\/Brexit-UK-agriculture-policy-CBP-8218.pdf): “The UK Government has pledged \\[in Gove’s speech [The Unfrozen Moment - Delivering A Green Brexit](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/the-unfrozen-moment-delivering-a-green-brexit)\\] to maintain the same cash funds as currently for CAP until the end of the Parliament, under the expectation that this will be 2022. … Farming unions have welcomed the Government’s commitment to maintaining the same cash funds for farm support until 2022.”\n\n**Conclusion**\n\nFood security, and moreover, the food industry, have emerged as deal-breakers in the Brexit debate. The conditions set out in ‘the deal’ attempt to avoid some of the most immediate threats to food security but leaves critical questions unaddressed. - It does not mention the return of competences of devolved issues including agriculture, forestry and fisheries ([Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5](http:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/1998\/46\/schedule\/5)[)](http:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/1998\/46\/schedule\/5) to the Scottish Parliament. Though ‘the deal’ is silent on this issue, the UK constitution is not.\n\nOn a final note, the proposed deal in essence seeks to mitigate the direct impact on food security and producers in the UK risked by a no deal Brexit. Yet there is much more to be said about the impact on food security and food producers globally. The silence on these issues and the marked return to the self-interest of the nation state, both in ‘the deal’, and in the debate that surrounds it, diminishes us all.\n\n**This blog is drawn for a presentation given by the author to the Annual Conference of the Law Society of Scotland on 26th October 2018 and was previously posted on the European Futures blog; <https:\/\/www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk\/>**\n\n![Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems logo](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/convert_to_webp\/public\/2025-04\/DGAFS_2_colour.png.webp?itok=9zNCttN3)\n\n[Contact us](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/contact-us)\n\n### The University of Edinburgh\n- [Terms & conditions](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/about\/website\/website-terms-conditions)\n- [Privacy & cookies](https:\/\/edin.ac\/privacy-information)\n- [Complaints procedure](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/university-secretary-group\/complaint-handling-procedure)\n- [Modern slavery](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/sustainability\/what-we-do\/supply-chains\/initiatives\/modern-slavery\/statement)\n\n- [Website accessibility](https:\/\/edin.ac\/accessibility-statement)\n- [Freedom of information publication scheme](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/about\/website\/freedom-information)\n- [Data protection \/ Records Management](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/data-protection)\n- [Digital Sustainability](https:\/\/edin.ac\/digital-sustainability)\n\n[![University affiliations](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/themes\/upstream\/wpp_theme\/images\/footer-affiliations.png)](https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/about\/mission-governance\/affiliations)\n\n[MyEd login](https:\/\/www.myed.ed.ac.uk\/)\n\nThe University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336, VAT Registration Number GB 592 9507 00, and is acknowledged by the UK authorities as a “[Recognised body](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/recognised-uk-degrees)” which has been granted degree awarding powers.\n\nUnless explicitly stated otherwise, all material is copyright © The University of Edinburgh 2026.\n\n## User account menu\n[CMS login](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/user\/login?destination=\/global-agriculture-food-systems\/gaafs-news\/blogs\/brexit-food)","attrs_readable_markdown":"### May’s proposed withdrawal deal was a compromise with the food industry intended to avoid a no deal Brexit food crisis. Several weeks later and the prospect of a no deal Brexit looms larger.\n‘The deal’ proposed that existing terms and conditions covering goods and the EU regulations will continue to apply (under draft [Article 6 (2)](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)), a list of relevant EU regulations (- 68 pages long) is set out in draft [Annex 5](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf). That covered food and medicines, ensuring that the majority of existing EU regulation relating to food and medicine would continue to apply indefinitely (until the end of the open-ended transition period).\n\nThe backstop ([Protocol on Ireland \/Northern Ireland](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)) in the proposed deal was intended to avoid the basic logistical challenges of food supply which would have resulted from a no deal Brexit. The logistical challenges have been well-documented: The UK imports about [30% (by value)](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/food-statistics-pocketbook-2017\/food-statistics-in-your-pocket-2017-global-and-uk-supply) of all its food from other EU Member States (more if measured by tonnage). Many of those food products are perishable. The necessary IT systems and infrastructure [are not in place](https:\/\/publications.parliament.uk\/pa\/cm201719\/cmselect\/cmenvfru\/348\/348.pdf) for the import and export of agricultural produce so that businesses can continue to trade smoothly with Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, and the rest of the world.\n\nThe food security challenges of a no-deal Brexit, the [‘stuff of nightmares’](https:\/\/www.newsletter.co.uk\/news\/business\/brexit-becoming-stuff-of-nightmares-warns-food-chief-1-8587777), were to be resolved by stockpiling, according to then Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab. In evidence to the [Exiting the European Union Committee](https:\/\/parliamentlive.tv\/Event\/Index\/5342afbc-c9d3-4a2c-8bb4-c0ab9214db68), on Tuesday 24 July 2018, Raab was ridiculed when he suggested it would be up to suppliers to stockpile food in the case of a no-deal Brexit: “It would be wrong to describe the government as doing the stockpiling”. The full evidence session is available [here](https:\/\/parliamentlive.tv\/Event\/Index\/5342afbc-c9d3-4a2c-8bb4-c0ab9214db68#player-tabs).\n\nIn response, the [British Retail Consortium warned](https:\/\/brc.org.uk\/news\/2018\/stockpiling-of-food-is-not-a-practical-response-to-a-no-deal-on-brexit) that: “Stockpiling of food is not a practical response to a no-deal on Brexit and industry has not been approached by Government to begin planning for this. Retailers do not have the facilities to house stockpiled goods and in the case of fresh produce, it is simply not possible to do so. Our food supply chains are extremely fragile and this is yet further demonstration of the need for an agreement on the backstop to ensure frictionless trade is maintained after the 29 March 2019.”\n\nAccording to Ian Wright CBE’s, [Campden BRI Day Lecture](https:\/\/www.fdf.org.uk\/news.aspx?article=7994) in June 2018: “The only acceptable outcome is one that delivers: continued tariff-free UK-EU trade in all agrifood and drink products; continued access to EU FTAs (Free Trade Agreement) during and beyond the transition period; as frictionless as possible trade that avoids delays and added costs and no physical border in Ireland where the majority of goods traded are food and drink.”\n\n‘The deal’ meets these conditions to an extent. It enables the free flow of goods but restricts the flow of alternative trade deals. Instead any such free trade deals will be pursued from within the EU as part of the EU. (It is expected that the EU Trade Commission will explore a “limited” trade agreement on tariffs of industrial goods with the US, next year, although it is not expected that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be resuscitated.)\n\n**EU trade agreements diagram:**\n\nImage\n\n![Map showing the state of EU trade](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/convert_to_webp\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/kirsteen_blog_graph_1.png.webp?itok=t4OIk5h9)\n\n**Image source: <http:\/\/trade.ec.europa.eu\/doclib\/docs\/2012\/june\/tradoc_149622.pdf>**\n\n**Food producers and labourers:**\n\nThe Withdrawal Agreement safeguards the right to stay and continue their current activities for over 3 million EU citizens in the UK, and over 1 million UK nationals in EU countries ([Article 10](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)). This will protect non-UK EU citizens who work as vets in meat hygiene services in the UJ (estimated to amount to 90% of the sector according to the [British Veterinary Association](https:\/\/www.bva.co.uk\/News-campaigns-and-policy\/Newsroom\/News-releases\/BVA-urges-UK-governments-to-protect-the-status-of-vets-and-VNs-in-Brexit-negotiations\/)). This will not safeguard the rights of seasonal migrant workers characteristic of the farming sector.\n\nA recent report by [Migrant Advisory Committee](https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/741926\/Final_EEA_report.PDF) (MAC) recommends the creation of a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS): “The labour market for seasonal agricultural labour is completely separate from the market for resident workers in a way that is unlike any other labour market. According to the ONS, 99 per cent of seasonal agricultural workers are from EU countries and it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which this workforce can come from the resident labour market. There is no other sector in which the majority of workers are migrants and very few with a migrant share above 25 per cent.”\n\nThe image below, featured in the MAC report shows the change in the hectares planted with some selected labour- intensive crops index to 2004, the year the 8 Accession new member states joined the EU. It shows how the number of hectares dedicated to growing these selected crops was falling prior to this event and either stabilised or expanded afterwards.\n\nImage\n\n![Graph showing hectares of planted crops over time](https:\/\/vet.ed.ac.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/convert_to_webp\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/kirsteen_blog_graph_2.png.webp?itok=wa5BzMsF)\n\nSource: [DEFRA](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/statistics\/latest-horticulture-statistics) (“latest asparagus data for 2015”.)\n\nUnder a [new pilot scheme](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/new-pilot-scheme-to-bring-2500-seasonal-workers-to-uk-farms?utm_source=049715a0-261c-431b-89b8-0ecd10b2fbf9&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate) announced by Michael Gove in September 2018 2,500 workers from outside the EU will be able to come to the UK each year, alleviating labour shortages during peak production periods. As [Caroline Nye of the University of Exeter](https:\/\/theconversation.com\/british-farms-could-get-a-special-pass-to-hire-migrant-workers-after-brexit-103393) has reported: “Running between spring 2019 and December 2020, the scheme will unfortunately only deal with the tip of the iceberg.. … the 2,500 workers brought in by this new scheme will have little overall impact on the labour crisis currently hanging over the UK farming industry. Many farming businesses could suffer financial problems if larger numbers of visas aren’t made available during the two years the scheme is running. This could lead to further headlines about fruit “[rotting in the fields](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2018\/feb\/09\/lack-of-migrant-workers-left-food-rotting-in-uk-fields-last-year-data-reveals)”.”\n\nThere are advantages and disadvantages of a seasonal agricultural workers scheme such as that proposed by MAC. The potential disadvantage being that it promotes seasonal migratory work and not permanent year-round jobs. It has clear advantages however, in that it will help against labour shortages in the agricultural sector, and moreover it will protect those workers from the informal labour market. As, it bears noting that the removal of EU protections and rights for seasonal migrant workers in the UK does not necessarily correlate to an exodus of seasonal migrant workers. Instead, in reality, without specific safeguards in this sector, we may see the growth of the informal migrant labour sector across the UK, as farms seek to cut corners and employ cheap labour under the radar to survive.\n\n**CFP**\n\nWithin the fishing sector and beyond, hopes are high that Brexit, and specifically leaving the Common Fisheries Policy, represents [‘a sea of opportunity’](https:\/\/www.sff.co.uk\/brexit-bonanza-fisheries-seize-sea-opportunity\/) for coastal communities around the UK. – However, both the draft deal scenario and the no deal scenario are unlikely to have the anticipated favourable impact on the UK’s coastal communities, for different reasons.\n\n‘The deal’ paves the way for the UK to operate as an ‘independent coastal state’. Under Article 130 of the draft deal, the UK is consulted about the management of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) until a new arrangement comes in to place, expected to be in early 2020. On the other hand, a ‘no deal Brexit’ would mean an end to the CFP more or less immediately.\n\nUnder both scenarios it is misleading to suggest that the government will automatically ‘regain control of its quotas’ and that this be the EU’s loss and UK coastal communities’s ‘win’. Indeed the existing quotas have been harmful to the economy of coastal communities. But under existing EU rules on the CFP, it is not the EU but the UK government that has responsibility for setting and importantly, monitoring the quotas in UK waters.\n\nUnder existing arrangements, according to a recent [investigation](http:\/\/lifeplatform.eu\/fishy-business-fish-pos-eu\/) by the EU lobby group for coastal fishermen Low Impact Fishers of Europe (Life) and reported by the [Guardian](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2018\/jun\/11\/brexit-uk-fishermen-fishing-industry-quotas-uk-government): 97% of English quotas are owned by a half-dozen fish producer organisations (POs).  40 % of the entire Scottish catch by value, and 65% by tonnage, was landed by 19 powerful super-trawlers in 2016. Small-scale coastal fishermen, who operate 80% of Scottish boats, have to make do with 1% of quotas.\n\nA new arrangement does not necessarily mean a fairer one. It is big industry not small European fishermen who take the lion’s share of fishing stocks in the UK’s coastal waters. If the UK wanted to improve the lot of small fishing industries, it could do so under the existing EU arrangement.\n\n**CAP**\n\nThe draft deal commits to leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (the CAP). What does that mean for farmers and producers in the UK?\n\nThe CAP has been troubled and much maligned for many years. Some of the controversy surrounding CAP relates to its early practice of encouraging overproduction within EU, and the ‘dumping’ of surplus produce on developing countries, to the detriment of local producers and local economies in those countries. Combined with high external tariffs for non-EU food imports, the practice of dumping attracted wide spread international condemnation of the EU agricultural policies notably at the Doha World Trade Organisation talks in 2003.\n\nThe CAP has evolved considerably since then and is set for further significant reform in the next CAP round (from 2020). The [European Commission](https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/food-farming-fisheries\/key-policies\/common-agricultural-policy\/future-cap_en) has set out proposals to structure future CAP payments to prioritise small and medium-sized farms and encourage young farmers to join the profession. The UK is therefore not leaving CAP as we know it now, but instead it is leaving this future reformed CAP arrangement which will be in place post 2020. The loss of the future CAP benefits is likely therefore to have a disproportionate effect across UK farms, namely on those prioritised by future CAP reform - small and medium-sized farms and young farmers.\n\n[According to government estimates](https:\/\/researchbriefings.parliament.uk\/ResearchBriefing\/Summary\/CDP-2016-0177) currently CAP support makes up around 50-60% of farm incomes in the UK. The distribution of support across the UK varies however and the loss of CAP will have a differentiated impact regionally. The four nations’ [allocation of CAP funding](http:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/uk-cap-allocations-announced) per capita over the 2014-2020 period: England – €330; Scotland – €855; Wales – €841; Northern Ireland – €1,372.\n\nThe [Scottish Government](https:\/\/www2.gov.scot\/Topics\/farmingrural\/Agriculture\/CAP\/CAPEurope10112012\/CAP-whatitmeansforScotland) has stated: “Without CAP, few of Scotland’s farm businesses would be viable and much of Scotland's land would be unproductive. … For the vast majority of Scotland’s farmers, CAP support helps to make their businesses viable. Without CAP, we’d run the risk of many farmers leaving the industry and that would have a serious impact on our food production as well as the management of our countryside.”\n\nIt is generally agreed that the scale and nature of the immediate impact of the CAP exit on UK agriculture will largely depend on future levels of income support for farmers and rural development funding from the UK and Scottish governments ([amongst other factors](https:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/documents\/commons-library\/Brexit-UK-agriculture-policy-CBP-8218.pdf)). Gove’s proposed Agriculture Bill sets out that future income support for farmers will be based on environmental contributions, through green payment schemes. How those contributions are measured and therefore the capacity for the diversity of farms across the UK (i.e. including hill farms) to benefit from those subsidies is as yet unclear.\n\nAccording to a [House of Commons Briefing Paper](https:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/documents\/commons-library\/Brexit-UK-agriculture-policy-CBP-8218.pdf): “The UK Government has pledged \\[in Gove’s speech [The Unfrozen Moment - Delivering A Green Brexit](https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/the-unfrozen-moment-delivering-a-green-brexit)\\] to maintain the same cash funds as currently for CAP until the end of the Parliament, under the expectation that this will be 2022. … Farming unions have welcomed the Government’s commitment to maintaining the same cash funds for farm support until 2022.”\n\n**Conclusion**\n\nFood security, and moreover, the food industry, have emerged as deal-breakers in the Brexit debate. The conditions set out in ‘the deal’ attempt to avoid some of the most immediate threats to food security but leaves critical questions unaddressed. - It does not mention the return of competences of devolved issues including agriculture, forestry and fisheries ([Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5](http:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/1998\/46\/schedule\/5)[)](http:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/1998\/46\/schedule\/5) to the Scottish Parliament. Though ‘the deal’ is silent on this issue, the UK constitution is not.\n\nOn a final note, the proposed deal in essence seeks to mitigate the direct impact on food security and producers in the UK risked by a no deal Brexit. Yet there is much more to be said about the impact on food security and food producers globally. The silence on these issues and the marked return to the self-interest of the nation state, both in ‘the deal’, and in the debate that surrounds it, diminishes us all.\n\n**This blog is drawn for a presentation given by the author to the Annual Conference of the Law Society of Scotland on 26th October 2018 and was previously posted on the European Futures blog; <https:\/\/www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk\/>**","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/brexit-food
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Meta Title	Brexit and Food \| Global Agriculture and Food Systems \| The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
Meta Description	Dr Kirsteen Shields, Lecturer in International Law and Food Security
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Boilerpipe Text	May’s proposed withdrawal deal was a compromise with the food industry intended to avoid a no deal Brexit food crisis. Several weeks later and the prospect of a no deal Brexit looms larger. ‘The deal’ proposed that existing terms and conditions covering goods and the EU regulations will continue to apply (under draft Article 6 (2) ), a list of relevant EU regulations (- 68 pages long) is set out in draft Annex 5 . That covered food and medicines, ensuring that the majority of existing EU regulation relating to food and medicine would continue to apply indefinitely (until the end of the open-ended transition period). The backstop ( Protocol on Ireland /Northern Ireland ) in the proposed deal was intended to avoid the basic logistical challenges of food supply which would have resulted from a no deal Brexit. The logistical challenges have been well-documented: The UK imports about 30% (by value) of all its food from other EU Member States (more if measured by tonnage). Many of those food products are perishable. The necessary IT systems and infrastructure are not in place for the import and export of agricultural produce so that businesses can continue to trade smoothly with Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, and the rest of the world. The food security challenges of a no-deal Brexit, the ‘stuff of nightmares’ , were to be resolved by stockpiling, according to then Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab. In evidence to the Exiting the European Union Committee , on Tuesday 24 July 2018, Raab was ridiculed when he suggested it would be up to suppliers to stockpile food in the case of a no-deal Brexit: “It would be wrong to describe the government as doing the stockpiling”. The full evidence session is available here . In response, the British Retail Consortium warned that: “Stockpiling of food is not a practical response to a no-deal on Brexit and industry has not been approached by Government to begin planning for this. Retailers do not have the facilities to house stockpiled goods and in the case of fresh produce, it is simply not possible to do so. Our food supply chains are extremely fragile and this is yet further demonstration of the need for an agreement on the backstop to ensure frictionless trade is maintained after the 29 March 2019.” According to Ian Wright CBE’s, Campden BRI Day Lecture in June 2018: “The only acceptable outcome is one that delivers: continued tariff-free UK-EU trade in all agrifood and drink products; continued access to EU FTAs (Free Trade Agreement) during and beyond the transition period; as frictionless as possible trade that avoids delays and added costs and no physical border in Ireland where the majority of goods traded are food and drink.” ‘The deal’ meets these conditions to an extent. It enables the free flow of goods but restricts the flow of alternative trade deals. Instead any such free trade deals will be pursued from within the EU as part of the EU. (It is expected that the EU Trade Commission will explore a “limited” trade agreement on tariffs of industrial goods with the US, next year, although it is not expected that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be resuscitated.) EU trade agreements diagram: Image Image source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2012/june/tradoc_149622.pdf Food producers and labourers: The Withdrawal Agreement safeguards the right to stay and continue their current activities for over 3 million EU citizens in the UK, and over 1 million UK nationals in EU countries ( Article 10 ). This will protect non-UK EU citizens who work as vets in meat hygiene services in the UJ (estimated to amount to 90% of the sector according to the British Veterinary Association ). This will not safeguard the rights of seasonal migrant workers characteristic of the farming sector. A recent report by Migrant Advisory Committee (MAC) recommends the creation of a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS): “The labour market for seasonal agricultural labour is completely separate from the market for resident workers in a way that is unlike any other labour market. According to the ONS, 99 per cent of seasonal agricultural workers are from EU countries and it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which this workforce can come from the resident labour market. There is no other sector in which the majority of workers are migrants and very few with a migrant share above 25 per cent.” The image below, featured in the MAC report shows the change in the hectares planted with some selected labour- intensive crops index to 2004, the year the 8 Accession new member states joined the EU. It shows how the number of hectares dedicated to growing these selected crops was falling prior to this event and either stabilised or expanded afterwards. Image Source: DEFRA (“ latest asparagus data for 2015”.) Under a new pilot scheme announced by Michael Gove in September 2018 2,500 workers from outside the EU will be able to come to the UK each year, alleviating labour shortages during peak production periods. As Caroline Nye of the University of Exeter has reported: “ Running between spring 2019 and December 2020, the scheme will unfortunately only deal with the tip of the iceberg.. … the 2,500 workers brought in by this new scheme will have little overall impact on the labour crisis currently hanging over the UK farming industry. Many farming businesses could suffer financial problems if larger numbers of visas aren’t made available during the two years the scheme is running. This could lead to further headlines about fruit “ rotting in the fields ”.” There are advantages and disadvantages of a seasonal agricultural workers scheme such as that proposed by MAC. The potential disadvantage being that it promotes seasonal migratory work and not permanent year-round jobs. It has clear advantages however, in that it will help against labour shortages in the agricultural sector, and moreover it will protect those workers from the informal labour market. As, it bears noting that the removal of EU protections and rights for seasonal migrant workers in the UK does not necessarily correlate to an exodus of seasonal migrant workers. Instead, in reality, without specific safeguards in this sector, we may see the growth of the informal migrant labour sector across the UK, as farms seek to cut corners and employ cheap labour under the radar to survive. CFP Within the fishing sector and beyond, hopes are high that Brexit, and specifically leaving the Common Fisheries Policy, represents ‘a sea of opportunity’ for coastal communities around the UK. – However, both the draft deal scenario and the no deal scenario are unlikely to have the anticipated favourable impact on the UK’s coastal communities, for different reasons. ‘The deal’ paves the way for the UK to operate as an ‘independent coastal state’. Under Article 130 of the draft deal, the UK is consulted about the management of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) until a new arrangement comes in to place, expected to be in early 2020. On the other hand, a ‘no deal Brexit’ would mean an end to the CFP more or less immediately. Under both scenarios it is misleading to suggest that the government will automatically ‘ regain control of its quotas’ and that this be the EU’s loss and UK coastal communities’s ‘win’. Indeed the existing quotas have been harmful to the economy of coastal communities. But under existing EU rules on the CFP , it is not the EU but the UK government that has responsibility for setting and importantly, monitoring the quotas in UK waters. Under existing arrangements, according to a recent investigation by the EU lobby group for coastal fishermen Low Impact Fishers of Europe (Life) and reported by the Guardian : 97% of English quotas are owned by a half-dozen fish producer organisations (POs). 40 % of the entire Scottish catch by value, and 65% by tonnage, was landed by 19 powerful super-trawlers in 2016. Small-scale coastal fishermen, who operate 80% of Scottish boats, have to make do with 1% of quotas. A new arrangement does not necessarily mean a fairer one. It is big industry not small European fishermen who take the lion’s share of fishing stocks in the UK’s coastal waters. If the UK wanted to improve the lot of small fishing industries, it could do so under the existing EU arrangement. CAP The draft deal commits to leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (the CAP). What does that mean for farmers and producers in the UK? The CAP has been troubled and much maligned for many years. Some of the controversy surrounding CAP relates to its early practice of encouraging overproduction within EU, and the ‘dumping’ of surplus produce on developing countries, to the detriment of local producers and local economies in those countries. Combined with high external tariffs for non-EU food imports, the practice of dumping attracted wide spread international condemnation of the EU agricultural policies notably at the Doha World Trade Organisation talks in 2003. The CAP has evolved considerably since then and is set for further significant reform in the next CAP round (from 2020). The European Commission has set out proposals to structure future CAP payments to prioritise small and medium-sized farms and encourage young farmers to join the profession. The UK is therefore not leaving CAP as we know it now, but instead it is leaving this future reformed CAP arrangement which will be in place post 2020. The loss of the future CAP benefits is likely therefore to have a disproportionate effect across UK farms, namely on those prioritised by future CAP reform - small and medium-sized farms and young farmers . According to government estimates currently CAP support makes up around 50-60% of farm incomes in the UK. The distribution of support across the UK varies however and the loss of CAP will have a differentiated impact regionally. The four nations’ allocation of CAP funding per capita over the 2014-2020 period: England – €330; Scotland – €855; Wales – €841; Northern Ireland – €1,372. The Scottish Government has stated: “Without CAP, few of Scotland’s farm businesses would be viable and much of Scotland's land would be unproductive. … For the vast majority of Scotland’s farmers, CAP support helps to make their businesses viable. Without CAP, we’d run the risk of many farmers leaving the industry and that would have a serious impact on our food production as well as the management of our countryside.” It is generally agreed that the scale and nature of the immediate impact of the CAP exit on UK agriculture will largely depend on future levels of income support for farmers and rural development funding from the UK and Scottish governments ( amongst other factors ). Gove’s proposed Agriculture Bill sets out that future income support for farmers will be based on environmental contributions, through green payment schemes. How those contributions are measured and therefore the capacity for the diversity of farms across the UK (i.e. including hill farms) to benefit from those subsidies is as yet unclear. According to a House of Commons Briefing Paper : “The UK Government has pledged [in Gove’s speech The Unfrozen Moment - Delivering A Green Brexit ] to maintain the same cash funds as currently for CAP until the end of the Parliament, under the expectation that this will be 2022. … Farming unions have welcomed the Government’s commitment to maintaining the same cash funds for farm support until 2022.” Conclusion Food security, and moreover, the food industry, have emerged as deal-breakers in the Brexit debate. The conditions set out in ‘the deal’ attempt to avoid some of the most immediate threats to food security but leaves critical questions unaddressed. - It does not mention the return of competences of devolved issues including agriculture, forestry and fisheries ( Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5 ) to the Scottish Parliament. Though ‘the deal’ is silent on this issue, the UK constitution is not. On a final note, the proposed deal in essence seeks to mitigate the direct impact on food security and producers in the UK risked by a no deal Brexit. Yet there is much more to be said about the impact on food security and food producers globally. The silence on these issues and the marked return to the self-interest of the nation state, both in ‘the deal’, and in the debate that surrounds it, diminishes us all. This blog is drawn for a presentation given by the author to the Annual Conference of the Law Society of Scotland on 26 th October 2018 and was previously posted on the European Futures blog; https://www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk/
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[Strategic marketing of organic foods can boost demand](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2024/strategic-marketing-organic-foods-boost-demand) - [Survey to understand eating habits of young Scots](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2024/survey-to-understand-eating-habits-of-young-scots) - [Warning labels could reduce appetite for red meat](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2024/warning-labels-could-reduce-appetite-for-red-meat) - [2023](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023) Expand/collapse submenu - - [Antibiotic tax could be as effective as a ban, study shows](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/antibiotic-tax-effective-as-ban) - [Expert group tackles economics of antimicrobial resistance](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/expert-group-tackle-economics-antimicrobial-resistance) - [Expert report sets out path to living with bird flu risk](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/expert-report-living-with-bird-flu) - 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[Parental work in agriculture affects child development](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/parental-agriculture-affects-child-development) - [Policymakers advised on actions toward healthy diets](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/policymakers-advised-healthy-diets) - [Professor Lisa Boden appointed new Head of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/lisa-boden-head-vet-school) - [Science can support sustainable beef production, expert claims](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/science-support-sustainable-beef-production) - [Smallholder farming benefits nutrition in under-fives](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/smallholder-farming-benefits-nutrition-under-fives) - [Study spotlights factors affecting antibiotic resistance](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/study-spotlights-antibiotic-resistance) - [Summer school focuses on infectious disease research](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/summer-school-focus-infectious-disease-research) - [Traditional agriculture can support planetary health](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/traditional-agriculture-support-planetary-health) - [University and ILRI renew livestock research partnership](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/uni-ilri-renew-livestock-research-partnership) - [University partnership unveils agricultural strategy](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/uni-partnership-unveils-agricultural-strategy) - [Women key to crop success in low-income countries](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2023/women-crop-success-low-income-countries) - [2022](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022) Expand/collapse submenu - - [Animal disease centre wins share of £35m funding](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/animal-disease-centre-wins-share-of-ps35m-funding) - [Campus to host secondary school with focus on STEM](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/campus-to-host-secondary-school-with-focus-on-stem) - [Conference: EurSafe 2022 'Transforming Food Systems'](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/conference-eursafe-2022-transforming-food-systems) - [Data science applied to key food systems challenges](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/data-science-applied-to-key-food-systems-challenge) - [Death of Professor Alan Raybould](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/death-of-professor-alan-raybould) - [Diseases in spotlight at One Health workshop](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/acrhive/2022/diseases-in-spotlight-at-one-health-workshop) - [EurSafe conference focuses on food systems](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/eursafe-conference-focuses-on-food-systems) - [Eursafe event focuses on transforming food systems](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/eursafe-event-focuses-on-transforming-food-systems) - [Expert joins panel advising Scottish Government](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/expert-joins-panel-advising-scottish-government) - [Insight into sales messaging could aid seafood trade](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/insight-into-sales-messaging-could-aid-seafood-trading) - [Market conditions key to adoption of gene editing](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/market-conditions-key-to-adoption-of-gene-editing) - [National assessment highlights research excellence](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/national-assessment-highlights-research-excellence) - [National event focuses on food security challenges](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/national-event-focuses-on-food-security-challenges) - [Natural farming programme halves use of pesticides by farmers](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/natural-farming-programme-halves-use-of-pesticides) - [Pandemic’s first wave had minimal impact on farming pattern and practices in India](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/pandemic-farming-india) - [Post-pandemic diet shifts could avert premature deaths](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/post-pandemic-diet-shifts-could-avert-premature-de) - [Scientist adds voice to UN climate change report](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/scientist-adds-voice-un-climate-change-report) - [Staff honoured by students in annual teaching awards](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/staff-honoured-teaching-awards) - [Students gather for summer school on One Health](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news/archive/2022/students-gather-for-summer-school-on-one-health) - 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[The Food Security and Sustainability Society, one year on](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/the-food-security-and-sustainability-society-one-y) - [Appetite for lab grown meat in spotlight at event](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/appetite-for-lab-grown-meat-in-spotlight-at-event) - [Crowd-sourced data shows what livestock eat](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/crowd-sourced-data-shows-what-livestock-eat) - [Red and processed meat intake high across North America](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/red-and-processed-meat-intake-high-across-north-am) - [Food security and taste drive food choices in Malawi](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/food-security-and-taste-drive-food-choices-in-mala) - [Guilty pleasures: eating the dirty burger](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs/guilty-pleasures-eating-the-dirty-burger) - 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[Home](https://www.ed.ac.uk/) 2. [The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/) 3. [Global Agriculture and Food Systems](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems) 4. [News and media](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/news) 5. [Blogs](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/gaafs-news/blogs) 6. Brexit and Food # Brexit and Food Dr Kirsteen Shields, Lecturer in International Law and Food Security ### May’s proposed withdrawal deal was a compromise with the food industry intended to avoid a no deal Brexit food crisis. Several weeks later and the prospect of a no deal Brexit looms larger. ‘The deal’ proposed that existing terms and conditions covering goods and the EU regulations will continue to apply (under draft [Article 6 (2)](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)), a list of relevant EU regulations (- 68 pages long) is set out in draft [Annex 5](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf). That covered food and medicines, ensuring that the majority of existing EU regulation relating to food and medicine would continue to apply indefinitely (until the end of the open-ended transition period). The backstop ([Protocol on Ireland /Northern Ireland](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)) in the proposed deal was intended to avoid the basic logistical challenges of food supply which would have resulted from a no deal Brexit. The logistical challenges have been well-documented: The UK imports about [30% (by value)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-statistics-pocketbook-2017/food-statistics-in-your-pocket-2017-global-and-uk-supply) of all its food from other EU Member States (more if measured by tonnage). Many of those food products are perishable. The necessary IT systems and infrastructure [are not in place](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvfru/348/348.pdf) for the import and export of agricultural produce so that businesses can continue to trade smoothly with Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, and the rest of the world. The food security challenges of a no-deal Brexit, the [‘stuff of nightmares’](https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/business/brexit-becoming-stuff-of-nightmares-warns-food-chief-1-8587777), were to be resolved by stockpiling, according to then Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab. In evidence to the [Exiting the European Union Committee](https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/5342afbc-c9d3-4a2c-8bb4-c0ab9214db68), on Tuesday 24 July 2018, Raab was ridiculed when he suggested it would be up to suppliers to stockpile food in the case of a no-deal Brexit: “It would be wrong to describe the government as doing the stockpiling”. The full evidence session is available [here](https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/5342afbc-c9d3-4a2c-8bb4-c0ab9214db68#player-tabs). In response, the [British Retail Consortium warned](https://brc.org.uk/news/2018/stockpiling-of-food-is-not-a-practical-response-to-a-no-deal-on-brexit) that: “Stockpiling of food is not a practical response to a no-deal on Brexit and industry has not been approached by Government to begin planning for this. Retailers do not have the facilities to house stockpiled goods and in the case of fresh produce, it is simply not possible to do so. Our food supply chains are extremely fragile and this is yet further demonstration of the need for an agreement on the backstop to ensure frictionless trade is maintained after the 29 March 2019.” According to Ian Wright CBE’s, [Campden BRI Day Lecture](https://www.fdf.org.uk/news.aspx?article=7994) in June 2018: “The only acceptable outcome is one that delivers: continued tariff-free UK-EU trade in all agrifood and drink products; continued access to EU FTAs (Free Trade Agreement) during and beyond the transition period; as frictionless as possible trade that avoids delays and added costs and no physical border in Ireland where the majority of goods traded are food and drink.” ‘The deal’ meets these conditions to an extent. It enables the free flow of goods but restricts the flow of alternative trade deals. Instead any such free trade deals will be pursued from within the EU as part of the EU. (It is expected that the EU Trade Commission will explore a “limited” trade agreement on tariffs of industrial goods with the US, next year, although it is not expected that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be resuscitated.) EU trade agreements diagram: Image ![Map showing the state of EU trade](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/convert_to_webp/public/thumbnails/image/kirsteen_blog_graph_1.png.webp?itok=t4OIk5h9) Image source: <http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2012/june/tradoc_149622.pdf> Food producers and labourers: The Withdrawal Agreement safeguards the right to stay and continue their current activities for over 3 million EU citizens in the UK, and over 1 million UK nationals in EU countries ([Article 10](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)). This will protect non-UK EU citizens who work as vets in meat hygiene services in the UJ (estimated to amount to 90% of the sector according to the [British Veterinary Association](https://www.bva.co.uk/News-campaigns-and-policy/Newsroom/News-releases/BVA-urges-UK-governments-to-protect-the-status-of-vets-and-VNs-in-Brexit-negotiations/)). This will not safeguard the rights of seasonal migrant workers characteristic of the farming sector. A recent report by [Migrant Advisory Committee](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/741926/Final_EEA_report.PDF) (MAC) recommends the creation of a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS): “The labour market for seasonal agricultural labour is completely separate from the market for resident workers in a way that is unlike any other labour market. According to the ONS, 99 per cent of seasonal agricultural workers are from EU countries and it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which this workforce can come from the resident labour market. There is no other sector in which the majority of workers are migrants and very few with a migrant share above 25 per cent.” The image below, featured in the MAC report shows the change in the hectares planted with some selected labour- intensive crops index to 2004, the year the 8 Accession new member states joined the EU. It shows how the number of hectares dedicated to growing these selected crops was falling prior to this event and either stabilised or expanded afterwards. Image ![Graph showing hectares of planted crops over time](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/convert_to_webp/public/thumbnails/image/kirsteen_blog_graph_2.png.webp?itok=wa5BzMsF) Source: [DEFRA](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/latest-horticulture-statistics) (“latest asparagus data for 2015”.) Under a [new pilot scheme](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-pilot-scheme-to-bring-2500-seasonal-workers-to-uk-farms?utm_source=049715a0-261c-431b-89b8-0ecd10b2fbf9&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate) announced by Michael Gove in September 2018 2,500 workers from outside the EU will be able to come to the UK each year, alleviating labour shortages during peak production periods. As [Caroline Nye of the University of Exeter](https://theconversation.com/british-farms-could-get-a-special-pass-to-hire-migrant-workers-after-brexit-103393) has reported: “Running between spring 2019 and December 2020, the scheme will unfortunately only deal with the tip of the iceberg.. … the 2,500 workers brought in by this new scheme will have little overall impact on the labour crisis currently hanging over the UK farming industry. Many farming businesses could suffer financial problems if larger numbers of visas aren’t made available during the two years the scheme is running. This could lead to further headlines about fruit “[rotting in the fields](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/09/lack-of-migrant-workers-left-food-rotting-in-uk-fields-last-year-data-reveals)”.” There are advantages and disadvantages of a seasonal agricultural workers scheme such as that proposed by MAC. The potential disadvantage being that it promotes seasonal migratory work and not permanent year-round jobs. It has clear advantages however, in that it will help against labour shortages in the agricultural sector, and moreover it will protect those workers from the informal labour market. As, it bears noting that the removal of EU protections and rights for seasonal migrant workers in the UK does not necessarily correlate to an exodus of seasonal migrant workers. Instead, in reality, without specific safeguards in this sector, we may see the growth of the informal migrant labour sector across the UK, as farms seek to cut corners and employ cheap labour under the radar to survive. CFP Within the fishing sector and beyond, hopes are high that Brexit, and specifically leaving the Common Fisheries Policy, represents [‘a sea of opportunity’](https://www.sff.co.uk/brexit-bonanza-fisheries-seize-sea-opportunity/) for coastal communities around the UK. – However, both the draft deal scenario and the no deal scenario are unlikely to have the anticipated favourable impact on the UK’s coastal communities, for different reasons. ‘The deal’ paves the way for the UK to operate as an ‘independent coastal state’. Under Article 130 of the draft deal, the UK is consulted about the management of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) until a new arrangement comes in to place, expected to be in early 2020. On the other hand, a ‘no deal Brexit’ would mean an end to the CFP more or less immediately. Under both scenarios it is misleading to suggest that the government will automatically ‘regain control of its quotas’ and that this be the EU’s loss and UK coastal communities’s ‘win’. Indeed the existing quotas have been harmful to the economy of coastal communities. But under existing EU rules on the CFP, it is not the EU but the UK government that has responsibility for setting and importantly, monitoring the quotas in UK waters. Under existing arrangements, according to a recent [investigation](http://lifeplatform.eu/fishy-business-fish-pos-eu/) by the EU lobby group for coastal fishermen Low Impact Fishers of Europe (Life) and reported by the [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/11/brexit-uk-fishermen-fishing-industry-quotas-uk-government): 97% of English quotas are owned by a half-dozen fish producer organisations (POs). 40 % of the entire Scottish catch by value, and 65% by tonnage, was landed by 19 powerful super-trawlers in 2016. Small-scale coastal fishermen, who operate 80% of Scottish boats, have to make do with 1% of quotas. A new arrangement does not necessarily mean a fairer one. It is big industry not small European fishermen who take the lion’s share of fishing stocks in the UK’s coastal waters. If the UK wanted to improve the lot of small fishing industries, it could do so under the existing EU arrangement. CAP The draft deal commits to leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (the CAP). What does that mean for farmers and producers in the UK? The CAP has been troubled and much maligned for many years. Some of the controversy surrounding CAP relates to its early practice of encouraging overproduction within EU, and the ‘dumping’ of surplus produce on developing countries, to the detriment of local producers and local economies in those countries. Combined with high external tariffs for non-EU food imports, the practice of dumping attracted wide spread international condemnation of the EU agricultural policies notably at the Doha World Trade Organisation talks in 2003. The CAP has evolved considerably since then and is set for further significant reform in the next CAP round (from 2020). The [European Commission](https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en) has set out proposals to structure future CAP payments to prioritise small and medium-sized farms and encourage young farmers to join the profession. The UK is therefore not leaving CAP as we know it now, but instead it is leaving this future reformed CAP arrangement which will be in place post 2020. The loss of the future CAP benefits is likely therefore to have a disproportionate effect across UK farms, namely on those prioritised by future CAP reform - small and medium-sized farms and young farmers. [According to government estimates](https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CDP-2016-0177) currently CAP support makes up around 50-60% of farm incomes in the UK. The distribution of support across the UK varies however and the loss of CAP will have a differentiated impact regionally. The four nations’ [allocation of CAP funding](http://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-cap-allocations-announced) per capita over the 2014-2020 period: England – €330; Scotland – €855; Wales – €841; Northern Ireland – €1,372. The [Scottish Government](https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/farmingrural/Agriculture/CAP/CAPEurope10112012/CAP-whatitmeansforScotland) has stated: “Without CAP, few of Scotland’s farm businesses would be viable and much of Scotland's land would be unproductive. … For the vast majority of Scotland’s farmers, CAP support helps to make their businesses viable. Without CAP, we’d run the risk of many farmers leaving the industry and that would have a serious impact on our food production as well as the management of our countryside.” It is generally agreed that the scale and nature of the immediate impact of the CAP exit on UK agriculture will largely depend on future levels of income support for farmers and rural development funding from the UK and Scottish governments ([amongst other factors](https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-library/Brexit-UK-agriculture-policy-CBP-8218.pdf)). Gove’s proposed Agriculture Bill sets out that future income support for farmers will be based on environmental contributions, through green payment schemes. How those contributions are measured and therefore the capacity for the diversity of farms across the UK (i.e. including hill farms) to benefit from those subsidies is as yet unclear. According to a [House of Commons Briefing Paper](https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-library/Brexit-UK-agriculture-policy-CBP-8218.pdf): “The UK Government has pledged \[in Gove’s speech [The Unfrozen Moment - Delivering A Green Brexit](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-unfrozen-moment-delivering-a-green-brexit)\] to maintain the same cash funds as currently for CAP until the end of the Parliament, under the expectation that this will be 2022. … Farming unions have welcomed the Government’s commitment to maintaining the same cash funds for farm support until 2022.” Conclusion Food security, and moreover, the food industry, have emerged as deal-breakers in the Brexit debate. The conditions set out in ‘the deal’ attempt to avoid some of the most immediate threats to food security but leaves critical questions unaddressed. - It does not mention the return of competences of devolved issues including agriculture, forestry and fisheries ([Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5](http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/schedule/5)[)](http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/schedule/5) to the Scottish Parliament. Though ‘the deal’ is silent on this issue, the UK constitution is not. On a final note, the proposed deal in essence seeks to mitigate the direct impact on food security and producers in the UK risked by a no deal Brexit. Yet there is much more to be said about the impact on food security and food producers globally. The silence on these issues and the marked return to the self-interest of the nation state, both in ‘the deal’, and in the debate that surrounds it, diminishes us all. This blog is drawn for a presentation given by the author to the Annual Conference of the Law Society of Scotland on 26th October 2018 and was previously posted on the European Futures blog; <https://www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk/> ![Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems logo](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/convert_to_webp/public/2025-04/DGAFS_2_colour.png.webp?itok=9zNCttN3) [Contact us](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems/contact-us) ### The University of Edinburgh - [Terms & conditions](https://www.ed.ac.uk/about/website/website-terms-conditions) - [Privacy & cookies](https://edin.ac/privacy-information) - [Complaints procedure](https://www.ed.ac.uk/university-secretary-group/complaint-handling-procedure) - [Modern slavery](https://www.ed.ac.uk/sustainability/what-we-do/supply-chains/initiatives/modern-slavery/statement) - [Website accessibility](https://edin.ac/accessibility-statement) - [Freedom of information publication scheme](https://www.ed.ac.uk/about/website/freedom-information) - [Data protection / Records Management](https://www.ed.ac.uk/data-protection) - [Digital Sustainability](https://edin.ac/digital-sustainability) [![University affiliations](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/themes/upstream/wpp_theme/images/footer-affiliations.png)](https://www.ed.ac.uk/about/mission-governance/affiliations) [MyEd login](https://www.myed.ed.ac.uk/) The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336, VAT Registration Number GB 592 9507 00, and is acknowledged by the UK authorities as a “[Recognised body](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recognised-uk-degrees)” which has been granted degree awarding powers. 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Readable Markdown	### May’s proposed withdrawal deal was a compromise with the food industry intended to avoid a no deal Brexit food crisis. Several weeks later and the prospect of a no deal Brexit looms larger. ‘The deal’ proposed that existing terms and conditions covering goods and the EU regulations will continue to apply (under draft [Article 6 (2)](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)), a list of relevant EU regulations (- 68 pages long) is set out in draft [Annex 5](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf). That covered food and medicines, ensuring that the majority of existing EU regulation relating to food and medicine would continue to apply indefinitely (until the end of the open-ended transition period). The backstop ([Protocol on Ireland /Northern Ireland](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)) in the proposed deal was intended to avoid the basic logistical challenges of food supply which would have resulted from a no deal Brexit. The logistical challenges have been well-documented: The UK imports about [30% (by value)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-statistics-pocketbook-2017/food-statistics-in-your-pocket-2017-global-and-uk-supply) of all its food from other EU Member States (more if measured by tonnage). Many of those food products are perishable. The necessary IT systems and infrastructure [are not in place](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvfru/348/348.pdf) for the import and export of agricultural produce so that businesses can continue to trade smoothly with Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, and the rest of the world. The food security challenges of a no-deal Brexit, the [‘stuff of nightmares’](https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/business/brexit-becoming-stuff-of-nightmares-warns-food-chief-1-8587777), were to be resolved by stockpiling, according to then Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab. In evidence to the [Exiting the European Union Committee](https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/5342afbc-c9d3-4a2c-8bb4-c0ab9214db68), on Tuesday 24 July 2018, Raab was ridiculed when he suggested it would be up to suppliers to stockpile food in the case of a no-deal Brexit: “It would be wrong to describe the government as doing the stockpiling”. The full evidence session is available [here](https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/5342afbc-c9d3-4a2c-8bb4-c0ab9214db68#player-tabs). In response, the [British Retail Consortium warned](https://brc.org.uk/news/2018/stockpiling-of-food-is-not-a-practical-response-to-a-no-deal-on-brexit) that: “Stockpiling of food is not a practical response to a no-deal on Brexit and industry has not been approached by Government to begin planning for this. Retailers do not have the facilities to house stockpiled goods and in the case of fresh produce, it is simply not possible to do so. Our food supply chains are extremely fragile and this is yet further demonstration of the need for an agreement on the backstop to ensure frictionless trade is maintained after the 29 March 2019.” According to Ian Wright CBE’s, [Campden BRI Day Lecture](https://www.fdf.org.uk/news.aspx?article=7994) in June 2018: “The only acceptable outcome is one that delivers: continued tariff-free UK-EU trade in all agrifood and drink products; continued access to EU FTAs (Free Trade Agreement) during and beyond the transition period; as frictionless as possible trade that avoids delays and added costs and no physical border in Ireland where the majority of goods traded are food and drink.” ‘The deal’ meets these conditions to an extent. It enables the free flow of goods but restricts the flow of alternative trade deals. Instead any such free trade deals will be pursued from within the EU as part of the EU. (It is expected that the EU Trade Commission will explore a “limited” trade agreement on tariffs of industrial goods with the US, next year, although it is not expected that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be resuscitated.) EU trade agreements diagram: Image ![Map showing the state of EU trade](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/convert_to_webp/public/thumbnails/image/kirsteen_blog_graph_1.png.webp?itok=t4OIk5h9) Image source: <http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2012/june/tradoc_149622.pdf> Food producers and labourers: The Withdrawal Agreement safeguards the right to stay and continue their current activities for over 3 million EU citizens in the UK, and over 1 million UK nationals in EU countries ([Article 10](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf)). This will protect non-UK EU citizens who work as vets in meat hygiene services in the UJ (estimated to amount to 90% of the sector according to the [British Veterinary Association](https://www.bva.co.uk/News-campaigns-and-policy/Newsroom/News-releases/BVA-urges-UK-governments-to-protect-the-status-of-vets-and-VNs-in-Brexit-negotiations/)). This will not safeguard the rights of seasonal migrant workers characteristic of the farming sector. A recent report by [Migrant Advisory Committee](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/741926/Final_EEA_report.PDF) (MAC) recommends the creation of a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS): “The labour market for seasonal agricultural labour is completely separate from the market for resident workers in a way that is unlike any other labour market. According to the ONS, 99 per cent of seasonal agricultural workers are from EU countries and it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which this workforce can come from the resident labour market. There is no other sector in which the majority of workers are migrants and very few with a migrant share above 25 per cent.” The image below, featured in the MAC report shows the change in the hectares planted with some selected labour- intensive crops index to 2004, the year the 8 Accession new member states joined the EU. It shows how the number of hectares dedicated to growing these selected crops was falling prior to this event and either stabilised or expanded afterwards. Image ![Graph showing hectares of planted crops over time](https://vet.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/convert_to_webp/public/thumbnails/image/kirsteen_blog_graph_2.png.webp?itok=wa5BzMsF) Source: [DEFRA](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/latest-horticulture-statistics) (“latest asparagus data for 2015”.) Under a [new pilot scheme](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-pilot-scheme-to-bring-2500-seasonal-workers-to-uk-farms?utm_source=049715a0-261c-431b-89b8-0ecd10b2fbf9&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate) announced by Michael Gove in September 2018 2,500 workers from outside the EU will be able to come to the UK each year, alleviating labour shortages during peak production periods. As [Caroline Nye of the University of Exeter](https://theconversation.com/british-farms-could-get-a-special-pass-to-hire-migrant-workers-after-brexit-103393) has reported: “Running between spring 2019 and December 2020, the scheme will unfortunately only deal with the tip of the iceberg.. … the 2,500 workers brought in by this new scheme will have little overall impact on the labour crisis currently hanging over the UK farming industry. Many farming businesses could suffer financial problems if larger numbers of visas aren’t made available during the two years the scheme is running. This could lead to further headlines about fruit “[rotting in the fields](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/09/lack-of-migrant-workers-left-food-rotting-in-uk-fields-last-year-data-reveals)”.” There are advantages and disadvantages of a seasonal agricultural workers scheme such as that proposed by MAC. The potential disadvantage being that it promotes seasonal migratory work and not permanent year-round jobs. It has clear advantages however, in that it will help against labour shortages in the agricultural sector, and moreover it will protect those workers from the informal labour market. As, it bears noting that the removal of EU protections and rights for seasonal migrant workers in the UK does not necessarily correlate to an exodus of seasonal migrant workers. Instead, in reality, without specific safeguards in this sector, we may see the growth of the informal migrant labour sector across the UK, as farms seek to cut corners and employ cheap labour under the radar to survive. CFP Within the fishing sector and beyond, hopes are high that Brexit, and specifically leaving the Common Fisheries Policy, represents [‘a sea of opportunity’](https://www.sff.co.uk/brexit-bonanza-fisheries-seize-sea-opportunity/) for coastal communities around the UK. – However, both the draft deal scenario and the no deal scenario are unlikely to have the anticipated favourable impact on the UK’s coastal communities, for different reasons. ‘The deal’ paves the way for the UK to operate as an ‘independent coastal state’. Under Article 130 of the draft deal, the UK is consulted about the management of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) until a new arrangement comes in to place, expected to be in early 2020. On the other hand, a ‘no deal Brexit’ would mean an end to the CFP more or less immediately. Under both scenarios it is misleading to suggest that the government will automatically ‘regain control of its quotas’ and that this be the EU’s loss and UK coastal communities’s ‘win’. Indeed the existing quotas have been harmful to the economy of coastal communities. But under existing EU rules on the CFP, it is not the EU but the UK government that has responsibility for setting and importantly, monitoring the quotas in UK waters. Under existing arrangements, according to a recent [investigation](http://lifeplatform.eu/fishy-business-fish-pos-eu/) by the EU lobby group for coastal fishermen Low Impact Fishers of Europe (Life) and reported by the [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/11/brexit-uk-fishermen-fishing-industry-quotas-uk-government): 97% of English quotas are owned by a half-dozen fish producer organisations (POs). 40 % of the entire Scottish catch by value, and 65% by tonnage, was landed by 19 powerful super-trawlers in 2016. Small-scale coastal fishermen, who operate 80% of Scottish boats, have to make do with 1% of quotas. A new arrangement does not necessarily mean a fairer one. It is big industry not small European fishermen who take the lion’s share of fishing stocks in the UK’s coastal waters. If the UK wanted to improve the lot of small fishing industries, it could do so under the existing EU arrangement. CAP The draft deal commits to leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (the CAP). What does that mean for farmers and producers in the UK? The CAP has been troubled and much maligned for many years. Some of the controversy surrounding CAP relates to its early practice of encouraging overproduction within EU, and the ‘dumping’ of surplus produce on developing countries, to the detriment of local producers and local economies in those countries. Combined with high external tariffs for non-EU food imports, the practice of dumping attracted wide spread international condemnation of the EU agricultural policies notably at the Doha World Trade Organisation talks in 2003. The CAP has evolved considerably since then and is set for further significant reform in the next CAP round (from 2020). The [European Commission](https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en) has set out proposals to structure future CAP payments to prioritise small and medium-sized farms and encourage young farmers to join the profession. The UK is therefore not leaving CAP as we know it now, but instead it is leaving this future reformed CAP arrangement which will be in place post 2020. The loss of the future CAP benefits is likely therefore to have a disproportionate effect across UK farms, namely on those prioritised by future CAP reform - small and medium-sized farms and young farmers. [According to government estimates](https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CDP-2016-0177) currently CAP support makes up around 50-60% of farm incomes in the UK. The distribution of support across the UK varies however and the loss of CAP will have a differentiated impact regionally. The four nations’ [allocation of CAP funding](http://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-cap-allocations-announced) per capita over the 2014-2020 period: England – €330; Scotland – €855; Wales – €841; Northern Ireland – €1,372. The [Scottish Government](https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/farmingrural/Agriculture/CAP/CAPEurope10112012/CAP-whatitmeansforScotland) has stated: “Without CAP, few of Scotland’s farm businesses would be viable and much of Scotland's land would be unproductive. … For the vast majority of Scotland’s farmers, CAP support helps to make their businesses viable. Without CAP, we’d run the risk of many farmers leaving the industry and that would have a serious impact on our food production as well as the management of our countryside.” It is generally agreed that the scale and nature of the immediate impact of the CAP exit on UK agriculture will largely depend on future levels of income support for farmers and rural development funding from the UK and Scottish governments ([amongst other factors](https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-library/Brexit-UK-agriculture-policy-CBP-8218.pdf)). Gove’s proposed Agriculture Bill sets out that future income support for farmers will be based on environmental contributions, through green payment schemes. How those contributions are measured and therefore the capacity for the diversity of farms across the UK (i.e. including hill farms) to benefit from those subsidies is as yet unclear. According to a [House of Commons Briefing Paper](https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-library/Brexit-UK-agriculture-policy-CBP-8218.pdf): “The UK Government has pledged \[in Gove’s speech [The Unfrozen Moment - Delivering A Green Brexit](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-unfrozen-moment-delivering-a-green-brexit)\] to maintain the same cash funds as currently for CAP until the end of the Parliament, under the expectation that this will be 2022. … Farming unions have welcomed the Government’s commitment to maintaining the same cash funds for farm support until 2022.” Conclusion Food security, and moreover, the food industry, have emerged as deal-breakers in the Brexit debate. The conditions set out in ‘the deal’ attempt to avoid some of the most immediate threats to food security but leaves critical questions unaddressed. - It does not mention the return of competences of devolved issues including agriculture, forestry and fisheries ([Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5](http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/schedule/5)[)](http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/schedule/5) to the Scottish Parliament. Though ‘the deal’ is silent on this issue, the UK constitution is not. On a final note, the proposed deal in essence seeks to mitigate the direct impact on food security and producers in the UK risked by a no deal Brexit. Yet there is much more to be said about the impact on food security and food producers globally. The silence on these issues and the marked return to the self-interest of the nation state, both in ‘the deal’, and in the debate that surrounds it, diminishes us all. This blog is drawn for a presentation given by the author to the Annual Conference of the Law Society of Scotland on 26th October 2018 and was previously posted on the European Futures blog; <https://www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk/>
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